


Wendy's Mistake

by Gamewizard2008



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Giantess - Freeform, Magic, Magical Girls, Shrinking, TINY - Freeform, girls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-27
Updated: 2015-12-27
Packaged: 2018-05-09 16:31:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 28,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5547404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gamewizard2008/pseuds/Gamewizard2008
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Takes place between the Key to Starry Heaven Arc and Grand Magic Games Arc.) It's been seven years since the events on Tenrou Island. While the members of Fairy Tail are struggling to support their guild after their decline, Wendy Marvell feels useless next to her fellow mages. Wishing to become stronger, Wendy creates a Growth Potion to enhance her own size and strength. However, she might've studied the wrong recipe, and this mistake will lead her to a... small problem.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wendy's Small Mishap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Natsu goes on a mission to retrieve an amulet from a group of evil witches, but the plan goes awry when Wendy slips up. She feels ashamed for her mistake, and seeks a way to get stronger quickly...

**Heeeeey what up persooooons? Welcome to the newest shrink story of 2015, however this story will not take place in Nextgen, it will in fact be a _Fairy Tail_ story! ;) Those who aren’t familiar with _Fairy Tail_ , BEWARE OF POTENTIAL SPOILERS. Those who are, you just might like this. ;) As you’ll also tell by the title, our shrink victim today is Wendy Marvell. Let us begin. (P.S., this takes place before Grand Magic Games.)**

****

**_

Chapter 1: Wendy’s Small Mishap

_**

****

**Worth Woodsea**

It was seven years since the chaotic events on Tenrou Island. Due to unforeseeable circumstances, all of Fairy Tail’s strongest mages were trapped in a time stasis. The few who remained at Fairy Tail faced hard times, for aside from the rather shabby state of their new building, people have drastically lost faith in its members. Even after the return of their fellow guildmates, Fairy Tail went from Fiore’s strongest to their most laughable. Even more so, they were barely asked for any good jobs and made little money. ‘Course, the return of its strongest mages was heard throughout the kingdom, and some citizens were still faithful. Today’s job, for instance, was an example, worth a million Jewel by the sound of their employer. The success of this mission would depend on the outcome of this chase through Worth Woodsea forest.

“Fire Dragon ROOOOAAAAR!” A powerful burst of flame erupted from Natsu’s lungs, destroying dozens of acres of trees.

 _“ICE WALL.”_ One of their three opponents erupted a frosty wall that held against the flames until it shattered. These three ladies were witches from the dark guild Shadow Empress, though these three, the “Nature Spirits”, were more notoriously known. They each wore purple clothes with the typical pointed witch hat; the oldest one was Cassandra, around 25 years old, frosty-blue hair, and used Ice Magic. The next was Maya, a chubby 15-year-old with spiky yellow hair who used Lightning Magic, and the youngest at 10 years old, with pretty pink hair and vibrant red eyes, Violeta. “Keep moving, girls!” the oldest yelled, running fast as they could through the forest.

“You’re not the only one who knows it.” declared Gray Fullbuster, ready to ambush them. _“Ice-Make HAMMER!”_ He raised a gigantic hammer of ice and flew it at all three ladies.

“Stop it, Maya!” Cassandra ordered. The chubbier witch spun into a bright ball of lightning, shooting through and destroying the hammer at lightspeed before going for Gray.

“Ahhh!” Gray gasped, frozen with fear at the lightning comet’s speed.

“WATCH OUT, Gray!” Erza Scarlet appeared by his side, using a team of 10 swords to hold the comet back. She remained steady despite the lightning’s strength, and Maya zipped back to her guildmates and reverted back.

“FLAME CIRCLE!” Violeta was the next to act, surrounding her team in a scorching circle and stretching it to burn the Fairies. This plan would backfire when Natsu sucked a chunk of those flames into his mouth.

“DAMMIT, Vi, I told you he was a Dragon Slayer!” Cassie shouted as they kept running. “He EATS fire, don’t you understand?!”

“I-I just forgot! Sorry!”

“You BETTER still have the necklace.”

“Sure!” Still running, she raised a golden necklace with a rainbow jewel from her cloak. “It’s right—HAAAA!” An arrow whipped by and stuck the necklace to a tree.

“Nice shot, Sagittarius!” Lucy cheered, her horse-costumed archer by her side.

“I’m always happy to thwart the plans of ne’er-do-wells!” the spirit saluted before vanishing.

“Leave the rest to me!” Lucy leapt forward and administered her classical Lucy Kick against Cassie and Maya, landing nimbly and running to swipe the necklace.

“No!” Violeta panicked; if she lost that necklace, she would never get the end of it. Her teammates still knocked down, she seized the moment and ran an alternate way.

Having witnessed Lucy run off with the necklace, Natsu smirked and waved to his winged cat, Happy in the sky. The Exceed saluted and signaled to the feminine cat of the same species, Carla, who looked down. “She’s coming, Wendy!”

“Mmm!” Wendy Marvell smirked, full of eagerness and confidence, running forward at breakneck speed. Her path was at a crossroads with Lucy, both mages exchanging one brief smirk as the necklace was passed onto Wendy. She kept running, the necklace blowing in the wind as Wendy held it to her face. “I GOT it! I got the—uah!” Tripping on an invisible root (Wendy’s excuse for her own clumsiness), she fell on her face and threw the necklace forward. “Owww…” She helped herself up and held her head.

Hearing panting from her left, Wendy whipped around as Violeta appeared from the bushes- “AAAAHH!!” colliding headfirst with Wendy. The force pushed both of them forward, rolling and bumping down a rugged barren hill to a lower grassland. Wendy managed to get free and grabbed hold of the hill, watching Violet roll the rest of the way down.

“Ow!” Violet stopped on her rear and bumped her head against a shiny purple mass. She looked up when that mass started moving and growling. Violet froze with fear at the face of a ferocious Thrino, a massive three-horned rhino with solid purple armor. “AAAAAHHHHH!” The young little witch fled for her life, having gained a drastic increase in speed knowing her life was in danger. Despite being on opposite sides, Wendy knew she couldn’t let the child die.

“Sky Dragon ROOOOAAAAR!” Wendy unleashed a powerful cyclone that laid nary a dent on the beast’s solid armor. But his attention was attracted, it looked like, facing Wendy with malice. “Uh-oh!” Wendy immediately tried bolting up the hill, but its steepness mixed with unbalanced terrain played a factor, Wendy tripping and tumbling back down. As the Thrino’s tremendous form grew seconds from snacking on Wendy like hay, death was clear in her eyes.

 _“HEEEEEEELLLLLP!”_ The Fairies ceased in their fight with Cassandra and Maya, hearing their friend’s cry.

“WENDY!” Natsu screamed.

Wendy shielded herself, wondering just when the monster would make contact, these last few seconds the most suspenseful in her life. “YAAAAA!” The shadow created by the monster vanished, for Scarlet had sliced it in a perfect half. She landed beside her friend as Natsu, Gray, and Lucy slid down. “Wendy, are you all right?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Do you still have the necklace?”

Wendy felt around her emerald patterned dress. “I-”

Cassandra and Maya slid down the hill on an ice-made sled, the necklace fluttering from the former’s hand. The duo came to a stop beside Violet to let her on. “Should’ve held onto it from the start. Make yourself useful and give us a boost!” Cassie ordered.

“Okay, okay!” Violet scrambled onto the sled and aimed her hands to its rear. “ROCKET BOOST!” Dual flames sprouted like rockets from her palms. In seconds, they were miles and miles across the grassland, the flame shrinking in the distance.

**Back in Magnolia Town**

“NNNNOOOOOO!” Count Balsamico cried once the Fairies reported the bad news. Although he looked no different with his sealed eyes and sour-puckered mouth, the anger was clear in his voice. “That necklace was a priceless family heirloom and you useless wizards let it slip out of your grasp!!!”

“It wasn’t OUR fault, Wendy’s the one who tripped!” Happy argued.

“Bequiet, Tomcat!” Carla smacked him angrily. The insult, however, was already taking its toll on Wendy.

“I don’t care whose fault it was, give that job request back to me now!” the count demanded. “It’s going right up on Sabertooth’s board where it should’ve been from the start. Now get out of my sight, all of you!”

**Fairy Tail**

“Ugh. What a humiliating loss.” Scarlet huffed, pushing open the doors to their guild-turned-tavern.

“And it was a good plan, too.” Lucy frowned. “Pass the necklace on to Wendy when they weren’t looking so she could get away. But I guess they were one step ahead of us.”

“Gotta expect these things, considering.” Gray said nonchalantly.

“Hey Carla, I found this yummy fish back in the forest!” Happy beamed, presenting the deceased delicacy to his beloved. “Wanna share?”

“Don’t even try with me, Tomcat.” Carla passed him off and walked away.

Wendy was the last to come in, looking downtrodden as she approached the bar. The Sky Maiden ignored the ecstatic chattering and partying of her many guildmates, taking a seat on a stool. “Hey there, Wendy.” Macao Conbolt greeted, wiping glasses clean behind the stand. “Can I get you some saké?”

“Uhhhh-” Her natural response would be to thank him and decline, but he was already ahead.

“Haha, I’m just kidding! I know you aren’t old enough. Have some juice.” He placed a small glass of healthy orange juice before her.

Wendy flushed at the comment and drank her juice halfheartedly. She looked a few seats to her left, seeing the 5-year-old Asuka Connell innocently sucking a bottle of juice herself. Wendy shamefully looked away and rested her head on her hand.

“Give MEEEE some saké, why don’tchu.” Cana Alberona spoke dizzily, plopping on the seat on Wendy’s right.

“Didn’t you get the day’s amount, Cana?” Macao asked.

“NOT until I have 6 more barrels!” So with questionable judgment, Macao plopped a barrel beside Cana, allowing her to guzzle away. “So what’s with _yoooouu_ , Shortstuff?”

Naturally Wendy turned red at the nickname. “I just feel so out of place here, Cana. I’m so useless at everything. I can’t go on any jobs that aren’t humiliating in some way, and all of the good jobs I keep messing up. I keep letting everybody down. Mest depended on me to help him make S-class Wizard and I totally let him down seven years ago. And I still haven’t forgotten those Butt-Jigglers…” She flustered, immediately regretting bringing up the embarrassing memory. “Now we’re the weakest guild in Fiore, and what’ve I done to contribute.”

“I thought you were a Dragon Slayer, you’re like, really powerful, aren’t you?”

“I’m supposed to be, but I’m a terrible wizard.” Wendy barely drank any of her juice. “Everybody’s got so much more experience. The best thing I can ever do for anybody is _healing_. I want to be able to do more than that. I want to be able to put just as much work into my magic as you all do. I want to get stronger and protect my friends with ALL of my strength!”

“Why don’t you make a potion.” Cana said absentmindedly.

“A… potion?”

“Yeah, there’s all kinds of potions that help you with stuff. Like _this_ baby.” She smiled goofily and guzzled her beer. “NONE for you, you’re still short.”

“Well, what kind of potions can I make?”

“I dunno, get a recipe book from the bookstore. I’m sure they’ll let toddlers have a discount.” And she tumbled backwards, laughing hysterically. Still red in the face from embarrassment and anger, Wendy walked out.

**Book Land**

“Let me see… Magic Papers…” Wendy thought aloud, skimming through titles, “Parfume…” On that book’s cover was a familiar gorgeous man with orange hair. “Aha! Potion Recipes!” Wendy excitedly took the book off the shelf and examined its contents. “There’s gotta be something in here that can help. Flight Potion, no… Gills? Eeeeh. …Size Potion?” Curious, Wendy skipped to that page. “‘A powerful potion which can dramatically alter the dimensions of the consumer. Drink in careful doses.’ Huh… does that mean it can..”

_The image immediately flashed in Wendy’s mind: all her guildmates, ecstatically drinking, partying, exchanging conversation. Totally unsuspecting. Just then, the doors flew open, everyone’s mouths agape. “Heh heh heh! Sorry for barging in like this!” Wendy Marvell beamed, having to crouch to squeeze under the unusually low front door, stepping through carefully lest she trip on her friends, who were at height with her knees. Through her drunkness, even Cana stared with dizzy eyes as Wendy sat at the counter with crossed legs. “Hey, Shortstuff! Mind getting me some juice?”_

The idea filled Wendy with pure delight. _And not only that…_

_Thousands of Vulcan surrounded her friends from every direction. Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and Erza exhausted all their strength, and were helpless with what to do. “Super Sky Dragon ROOOOOAAAAARRR!” Wendy, whose new size surpassed the Vulcan, blew every last one of them away._

!!! Wendy couldn’t conceal the excitement any longer. She closed the book and dashed back to the clerk. “I’d like to buy this, Sir!”

“A little wizard, huh?” the young man smiled. “That’ll be 500 Jewel.”

Wendy felt in her pockets for some money—but as her dress didn’t HAVE pockets. . . . . “Uuuuuhhhhh…”

“Heheh! Since you’re so young, how ‘bout I leave it on the house?”

Wendy blushed, “Thank you. I promise I’ll pay you later.” She grabbed the large book and raced out of the store.

“Ahhh, kids… er, hold on.” The boy looked at his clipboard and noticed the recipe book listed. “MISS, maybe you want the update-… ehh, what’s the worst that can happen.” He shrugged it off. After all, a child like her had to have a few parents or something to make sure she didn’t mess up.

**Fairy Hills; Wendy’s dorm**

All of her friends were still hanging out at the guild, so Wendy was left to work in peace. A little convenient, since Wendy was missing a few of the ingredients, she snooped around the others’ rooms and found quite a handy bit among the flora in Bisca’s room, including three of what looked to be the key ingredient: Pixiefairy Mushrooms, very small mushrooms that sprinkled a glittering pink dust. Wendy once heard Bisca say that they were great for diets and weight loss. A little odd for a potion that makes her grow, but this was her first time making a potion, she should be a little more open-minded.

Wendy worked on it for an hour and a half, keeping a focused and patient mind. It was almost ready as Wendy stirred the steaming substance in her bowl. Normally she would give a little taste test, but this being magic, maybe she shouldn’t. She heard the door to her room creak open. “Wendy, is that you? Where have you been?” called the familiar strict voice of her Exceed companion.

“Hey, Carla.” She responded, not averting her eyes from her stirring. “Don’t worry, I’ve just been in here.”

Carla approached, noticing the steam emitting from the bowl she was stirring. “Just… what are you making, Child?”

“A Growth Potion! For making me supersized!”

“Supers-… WHAT?!” Carla seemed disapproving. “For what purpose?”

“Everybody else is so much stronger than me, and I’m tired of feeling like the wimp. So I created this Growth Potion to grow bigger, and once I am, my attacks will be stronger, too!”

“Wendy, there is a better way to make yourself stronger: study and practice.”

“I’ve BEEN practicing. I’ve been practicing extra _hard_. But I’m just not _good_ at what I do. If I’m gonna stay in Fairy Tail, I need to do this.”

“But have you even checked the ingredients? The most single mistake could cost you your life.”

“I read the recipe book, took notes and everything, I’m absolutely positive.”

Carla flew onto the table, “Then please, let _me_ taste it first.”

“No, Carla. If I _did_ mess up, I don’t want you to die because of my mistake.”

“But would you rather me live with the guilt of letting you-”

“Look, Carla, I MADE my decision, I’m gonna do this.” Wendy spoke confidently, lifting the heavy cauldron in both arms. When she tried to carry it to the counter, it proved a bit much for her young self to bear. “Nnn, just need to let it, cool off, then it’s, ready for drinkin’. I- AAAAAAAAAHH!”

“WENDY!!” A slip of her own feet caused the substance to fly into the air, covering her as she lay on her back. The cauldron rolled along the floor empty, Wendy lain in a puddle of its pink steaming contents.

“Ooooooooowwwwww! My heeeaaad! And my… stomach… uuuuhhhh…” Wendy stared at her goop-covered hands, emitting a mystic glow. The light encased her whole body, reflecting off Carla’s stunned eyes. The light was enticing for Wendy, the sensation of losing a thousand pounds at once, and her vision began to sink below the table, Carla upon it.

A large barren spot lay in the center of the pink puddle. Carla stared surprised at a tiny, ant-like thing with a blue top, shifting and moving.

Surrounding Wendy was an open field made of solid wood, a sea of pink goo in every direction beyond. She shuddered when a pair of giant, white paws landed softly in the dryness, very soft quakes as they walked toward her. Her eyes directed up, finding the face of her enormous cat with staring, shiny brown eyes.

“WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!” Wendy’s frightened scream came at a much higher, but not nearly as deafening pitch. “W-W-W-W-What HAPPENED to me?! I’m…I’m tiny!!”

“I TOLD you this would happen, Child! I should have tasted the potion FIRST!” Carla said with a mix of anger and worry.

“B-B-B-B-B-But I followed the recipe exactly! I read the ingredients and checked the pictures three times each, I couldn’t have gone wrong!”

“And were you absolutely certain the label read ‘ _Growth_ Potion’, and not Shrink, Mini, or even Beetle??”

“It-It-It said SIZE Potion, s-so I assumed. . .”

“Wendy, if you are confused about something, it requires additional research from alternate sources, or even an extra paragraph you might’ve missed, you CAN’T just make the assumption-”

“I get it, Carla, PLEASE stop yelling at me!! I-I’m so TINY, and WEAK, a-a-and, sniff…” Wendy fell to her tiny little knees, eyes buried in her hands. Carla wasn’t actually yelling, so enhanced hearing must’ve been a result of her new size. Small or not, Carla had to feel sympathy for her master. She knew better than any how sensitive Wendy is, how much she tries to help and wants to feel part of the guild. She looked no bigger than Carla’s paws, so any person could wipe her out in the slightest motion. She knew that Wendy was panicking and very scared inside, for at such a size, she was almost totally helpless. Carla was glad she came when she did, but hated herself for not sparing the child this fate by drinking it herself. But now that Wendy was like this, it was up to Carla to protect her.

Wendy calmed down when two soft, furry forces picked her up from either end. Carla lifted her to her eyes in her paws. “I’m sorry if I lost my temper, Child, but you must understand the situation. As long as you are like this, you are in danger. I will take you to the others-”

“N-No, PLEASE don’t do that! If the others see what’s happened, they’ll think I can’t be trusted to do anything, and I’ll, I’ll never get to take any jobs!”

“Well, what do you expect ME to do, make an actual Growth Potion?! If you stocked up on extra ingredients, perhaps I could.”

“I-I already used up all these ingredients, and, i-it was the wrong potion ANYway!” She continued sobbing.

“Wendy, we must show this to the others. There is no mistake you could have made that all of Fairy Tail can’t fix. Or have you lost faith in them?”

Wendy sniffled, wiping her eyes. “Y-You’re right, Carla. Let’s…Let’s get their help. Take me to Fairy Tail.”

“You got it.” Carla set her tiny master on her head and sprouted her angel-like wings. The gentle, but strong wind breezed past Wendy as she clutched the thick fur tight, across the town of Magnolia and to Fairy Tail.

**Fairy Tail**

The moment Carla landed before the front door and pushed it open, Wendy couldn’t take it. All the constant chattering, partying, her fragile little eardrums were going to explode. As hard as she clapped her hands to her ears, the sound was just too strong. “It’ll be okay, Child, just keep your head together.”

Wendy nodded and sat calmly on Carla’s head as she walked through the bar. Nobody had any idea, it looked like, one of their guildmates was the size of an insect. They just went partying like normal. Everybody was so big, Wendy was thankful to be on Carla’s head and not on the floor, knowing how everyone is. Nobody looked concerned about her general absence. She wondered if her being there made the least bit difference. Well, it certainly wouldn’t now. Not when her magic was so incomparably feeble next to theirs. The trio of Natsu, Gray, and Lucy didn’t look so big from afar, but as Carla got closer, Wendy shuddered at their size.

“Gray, for the last time, I paid your 2,000 Jewel back 3 weeks ago!” Natsu argued to his rival.

“Well, tax increases Natsu, I need my cut of the ham.” Gray smirked back.

“HOW ‘BOUT I _ROAST_ YOUR HAM!”

“Could you boys stop bickering for a second?” The two of them, Happy, and Lucy looked at Carla with interest.

“Hey there, Carla! Where’s Wendy?” Natsu asked enthusiastically.

“She’s not still upset, is she?” Happy asked playfully. “‘Cause there’s nothing a HUG won’t fix!”

“Actually, she is… right here.” Carla pointed at her head.

“Right where?” asked Lucy.

“Right _here_. On my head.”

It felt as though the party silenced. Lucy got on all fours, noticing the blue-green dot atop the snow-white fur. Wendy felt she grew even smaller when Lucy’s bulbous brown eyes focused inches from her form. Beside her, Natsu’s fiery dark eyes narrowed in, followed by Gray’s cool blue ones, Lisanna’s gorgeous glittering blue on the right, until a whole wall of peach with eyes surrounded her, and other wizards viewing from overhead. “C-C-Can you please stop staring at me?”

“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!” Natsu jumped away in extreme surprise. “W-Wendy’s t-t-t-t-TINY!!”

“She’s so SMALL, I might MISTAKE her for a BUUUUG!” cried Happy.

“QUIET!!” Lucy smacked them both out of rage. “Your voices are going to KILL HER!!” Indeed, Wendy was shivering horribly at their unbearable soundwaves.

“Sniff, she’s so tiny that, MY MANLINESS COULD CRUSH HER!” Elfman exclaimed with a stream of tears.

“She’s still taller than your brain, so I wouldn’t worry about it.” Mirajane said irritably.

“Heeeeeeyyyy!” Cana sang from her table. “Look at _yooooouuuu_ , Shortstuff! Teach me your secret ‘cause I been wantin’ to lose some weight.”

Wendy wanted more than anything now to shrink and disappear from everyone’s sight. “WHAT’S all the commotion?” demanded a strong, womanly voice.

Everyone moved away from Carla as Wendy faced them: a pair of skyscraper black boots shook the floor as they clacked the ground, going up into a blue skirt followed by silver, shining armor. Then came the head with flowing tomato hair, and those black-brown eyes, thousands of feet above, peered down at Wendy. As Erza Scarlet sunk down into a squat, Wendy could feel the wind made by her movement. “Is that… _Wendy_?” Her voice changed from strictness to concern so fast, it was scary.

“Yes. She tried to create a Growing Potion and it backfired.” confirmed Carla.

“I know. Now even _Natsu_ can take a swing at her.” Gray remarked.

“Whaddoes THAT mean?!” yelled Natsu.

“Look, it can’t be too much to panic over.” Carla stated. “Wendy hasn’t sustained any major injuries as far as I’m aware.”

“How much did she drink?” Mirajane asked. “It looks like a lot, judging.”

“I-I didn’t DRINK it, I just SPILLED it on me, like a kluuuutz!” Wendy started bawling in further embarrassment.

“From what I can make of it, her body and clothing (thank goodness) absorbed it through the outside and that’s how it happened. We just need to research how to make the antidote and get started.”

“Antidote, shmanidote.” Natsu proclaimed confidently. “Master Makarov changes HIS size all the time. I’m sure he can use a spell or two on Wendy.”

“Except Master Makarov is on leave for the town of Era, for business with the Magic Council, and we don’t know when he’ll return.” Erza replied. “Without Gildarts or his grandson here, I’m in charge.”

“DAAAAH.” Natsu collapsed anime-style.

“Then I guess we’ll just have to whip up a potion ourselves.” Lucy figured.

“I’m way ahead of you.” Levy McGarden replied, already buried in a book. “There’s an island just down the southwestern sea, the Little-Big Island. Creatures that are normally huge here are tiny, and even the smallest gnat can be five stories high. Topographical features have inverted sizes too, and part of the recipe includes 5 inches of the Great Mushroom caps.”

“I thought my mushrooms were too small.” Wendy said embarrassed.

“So let’s get a boat and head over there.” Gray stated.

 _My darling Gray, so quick to get to the point when a friend is in need!_ Juvia’s eyes were hearts. _I would make the assumption he fancies Wendy, but she is FAR too young, though if he did, **I HOPE SHE STAYS SMALL LIKE THE BUG SHE IS** , but Gray couldn’t possibly, so I wish the best for her!_

“It’s almost impossible, because no boat ever wants to go there.” Levy informed. “The creatures there are venomous. Even S-class Wizards have a hard time making it out alive.”

“Th-Then am I supposed to STAY like this?!” Wendy wept.

“Master Makarov will return eventually, and when he does, I’m certain he can restore Wendy to normal size.” Erza said surely. “Until then, I think she should be kept safe.”

“No problem!” Lucy beamed. “The girls will keep her safe in the Fairy Hills. I was coming there for a slumber party tonight, anyway.”

“And I’ll build her a little house she can stay nice and cozy in!” Laki offered. “I just need to measure her a bit to determine proportions.”

“You guys really don’t have to do all this for me.” Wendy told them earnestly. “Really, I’m sure I can be fine on my own.”

“No friend of ours is risking her life getting eaten by a bug.” Mirajane glared. “Or do I need to change my appearance to remind you of the danger you’re in?”

Wendy gulped. “P-Please don’t. I-I appreciate all of your support.” She bowed.

“See, Wendy, good girls are gracious girls!” Her scary face changed to kindness, gently tapping Wendy’s head with her finger. “Let’s go get everything set up for you.” Mirajane, Laki, Lucy, and Lisanna all left the guild together, Carla following with Wendy.

“This actually reminds me of a familiar story.” Happy smirked at Natsu, recalling his encounter with Dan Straight.

“Give it a rest, Fishbreath.”

“You’re just mad ‘cause Laki didn’t build _you_ a birdhouse.”

“Who wants to sleep in a BIRDhouse?!”

“Help you get to sleep a lot faster.” remarked Gray.

“Ugh…”


	2. Wendy Cries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy, Levy, and Lisanna agree to look after the shrunken Wendy through the night. When the girls want Wendy to take part in their slumber party, Wendy declines. She finds herself unable to go to sleep, internally wishing to be a part of their activities. But will her size get in the way of that?

**I have to say, I really love this chapter. We’re developing Wendy’s character, and you know, cheesy bonding moments. X3**

****

**_

Chapter 2: Wendy Cries

_**

****

**Fairy Hills**

Upon returning to the dorms, Wendy was set on a table as Laki performed a series of seeming-unnecessary measurements, further embarrassing Wendy because of her size. All she could understand was she was around an inch in height, though a lot of complicated measurements went with it. It was over eventually when Laki returned with the results. “Theeeere you go!” Laki set the small wooden house on the table before Wendy. “Your temporary living quarters! Specially crafted so not even a boulder can crush it.”

Wendy walked to the front door and peeked inside. She admired Laki’s attention to detail, making it almost like a real house with a couch, a cottonball bed with a blanket (it looked to be torn from a real blanket), and a kitchen with various food crumbs trapped inside an ice-blue rectangular box made of writing. “I used my Solid Script to create a makeshift refrigerator.” Levy explained. “If you want something inside, just write ‘Hungry’ and it’ll let you open.”

“But if there’s ever a problem, feel free to give us a holler.” Lucy winked.

These were all very kind gestures, Wendy thought. The cottonball looked soft as a fluffy cloud, and the food, though just crumbs, looked diverse enough to last her for weeks. “You guys… I really don’t deserve this.” She smiled with her earnest tone.

“After ALL that measuring, are you serious?!” Laki’s sudden outburst rang in Wendy’s ears. “I can’t believe I murdered all that time for you.”

“I-I-It’s okay! I-I’ll take it! Really!” Wendy yelled panickingly.

“Terrific! Well, if you don’t mind, I have to whittle away my defenseless hours. Be careful now, you all!” With one last wink, she was off to her room.

“Eh heh… thank you guys again.” The tiny Dragon Slayer blushed. “I should get to bed, too.” She was about to enter her house.

“Wait, right now?” Lucy asked, she, Lisanna, and Levy putting their gigantic faces closer. Wendy was thankful for their whispers.

“We were about to have our slumber party.” Lisanna told her. “We were gonna ask you to be a part of it.”

“Y-You were?”

“Of course!” Levy smiled. “You’re one of the girls, too. We promise to be gentle with you! Can’t really say the same for Lucy.”

“Oh, I can show you gentle.” Lucy retorted threateningly.

“Guys, that’s really nice, but after today, I just wanna go to sleep.”

“Are you sure?” asked Levy. “We just wanna help you feel better.”

“I-I will. It’s okay.” Their words only wanted to make Wendy go inside even more, and after passing them an assuring smile, she closed the door behind her.

Wendy could feel the shaking of the floor outside, the three girls going away. _“She just needs a little time to adjust, it won’t be long.”_ she heard Lisanna say.

 _“Soooo, how have things been going?”_ Levy said in a bright tone.

 _“Just great!”_ As Lucy started speaking, Wendy calmly walked to her bed, slipping out of her brown Greek sandals and getting under the ripped blanket piece. The cotton sank under her weight, its softness allowing Wendy’s mind to wander freely. _“They finally dropped the rent on my apartment, and me and Natsu actually scored some good jobs, for once.”_

 _“Like what?”_ asked Lisanna. _“My sister and I took this job up a mountain where…”_

Wendy hoped sleep would ease her mind of today’s horrible blunder, but the voices outside robbed that affect. They were keeping their voices low for her, but she could still hear, though their volume wasn’t what was keeping her up. The fact that the three of them wanted to include Wendy in their slumber party caught her completely off guard. Being part of such an active conversation was something Wendy deserved least of all. The fact was, she didn’t deserve to be in the same light as them. She was just 12 years old, and they were 17. They had so much more experience than her, almost everyone at Fairy Tail did. Whenever in the field next to anyone else, they were so much more skilled. Surviving any battle they got involved in, almost completely unscathed at the end. Even if she helped a little, even after they passed her compliments, Wendy looked at her strength next to theirs and felt ashamed.

Of course, she was still just a child and they knew it. They were all really kind friends, allowing her to be with them, offering support. But deep down, Wendy thought it was all out of pity. They knew she was inexperienced, so they held back their comments of annoyance or anger, knowing she was just a child and still had a lot to learn. But it didn’t help her any. She felt like a burden for everyone, a schoolkid whose hand they had to hold as they taught her every little thing. She never imagined being in a guild this strong, and every mission, she felt so out of place. Especially next to the girls, in such strong, pretty, developed bodies, so enthusiastic and confident in their selves. Wendy was none of those things. She could never attend their slumber party like this, not when she was so adorably helpless and fragile. The very image of her being on the same floor as them looked so embarrassing and pathetic.

Better to stay in her safe, tiny dollhouse, out of everyone’s way, where they wouldn’t have to worry about her. She wanted to go into slumber and forget the whole thing…

**The next day…?**

To think she was so upset yesterday, that her sleep was full of embarrassment, shame, and guilt. ‘Cause Wendy was at full normal size, the sun shining upon her as she marched exuberantly to Fairy Tail. It was all just a dream, a dream thought up by her own rampant emotions. Why should she feel less important than her fellow Fairy Tail mages? She was an equal and important member of the guild, and they knew it… right?

“HEY, everybody!” Wendy greeted in her highest spirit as she threw open the door. “What are we doing today?”

No one seemed to notice her through all their partying, but she passed this off as always and approached her closest friends at the table. “Hey, Natsu! Do we have any—” She reached to pat Natsu’s shoulder, but her hand went right through. “Oh!!”

She fell deaf to all the partying around her. Natsu was talking casually to Lucy, unaware that Wendy was frantically waving her hand through his head. Totally intangible, as though she were a ghost. “Yo Natsu, buck up.” Gray said as he and Erza came over. “We got us a job and this pays a hefty amount.”

“Sweet! Another month of rent for me!” Lucy fist-pumped.

“OKAY- but…” Natsu’s energetic face turned to confusion. “Aren’t we missing somebody?”

“YES, you’re missing me, ME!!!” Wendy cried desperately.

“Who are you talking about?” Gray asked.

“Who else would we need?” Lucy asked.

“A HEALING WIZARD! Come on guys, I’M RIGHT HERE!” The tears were leaking fast. “You need someone to fix your injuries! D-Don’t you?”

“Ehh, maybe I’m just imagining things.” Natsu shrugged. “We’ll do just fine on our own, let’s go!”

“Aye, Sir!” Happy cheered, following as Natsu charged out.

“He gets more wrong in the head each day.” Gray commented as the others followed at a slower pace.

“There are many wizards here in Fairy Tail, but I can’t imagine anyone Natsu would be talking about.” Erza agreed.

Wendy fell to her knees, watching hopelessly as they shut the door outside. “But… don’t you guys need me? Aren’t I… one of you?”

A milky fog swallowed the world around her. The voices of all her chattering guildmates muted. Everyone was talking, going on like normal. Wendy’s part in this was irrelevant. “GUYS, I’m right here!” she continued crying, hoping to the gods that somebody, anybody would hear. “I’m right here! It’s me, Wendy! Please!” She couldn’t contain herself from crying anymore. “Somebody… please… say my name… PLEEEEEAAAAAAAASE!”

_“Wendy…Wendy…”_

“Just one person! Just one person, remember I—”

**“WENDY!!!”**

“HUUUU!” A split second later, Wendy was on her cottonball, the lightness of Carla’s paw pressing her. Her kitten creaked open the house’s roof, peering in with concerned eyes.

“I heard you shouting and when I looked in, you were shaking. Did you have a nightmare?”

“Yes…”

“Are you wet?”

“NO!!!” But when Wendy felt her face, her tears proved otherwise. “Er… a little.”

Carla reached in and took Wendy in both paws, holding her close. “Dry them off on my dress, Child, it’s all right.”

Wendy rubbed her face along the red fabric and did so. She lay relaxed while Carla cradled her like a baby. “You poor dear. Would you like to talk about it?”

“No, Carla, quit it, I’m not a baby!” Wendy shook.

“True, but I recall this being a very comforting gesture. Did you not do the same for me?”

The image appeared in Wendy’s mind: at seven years old, Wendy was cradling the newborn Carla in her arms, feeding the kitten, playing with her. How embarrassing to be the small one in her mature cat’s paws. “I was normal size.” Wendy spoke calmly. “I was going to Fairy Tail… but nobody there heard me. I couldn’t touch them. Natsu felt like someone was missing, but… they all just passed it off. They didn’t need anyone else.”

“Hmmm. Well, I can promise you there is very little accuracy to that dream. If those clowns had any common sense, they would know to take a Healing Wizard with them on dangerous missions.”

“Another thing, Carla… you weren’t there, either. It was like I… didn’t even exist.”

“You _did_ hatch my egg. If not you, someone else may have. Someone with… less-than-pleasant company.”

Wendy sniffled a bit, looking at the kitten’s warm, stern eyes. “Of all the people I’ve seen, Wendy… I’m honestly glad you were the one to find me. Your existence matters to me if nobody else. But don’t think for a second I won’t say the same for others.”

“HOW ABOUT SOME O’ THIS!” They directed their attention to Levy, Lucy, and Lisanna, all engaged in a rather chaotic pillow fight. Lucy was the most vicious as she swamped Lis in loose, fluttering feathers.

“Oh, how I wish those girls would settle down.” Carla said. “There are some who desire sleep… Wendy?”

The tiny mage stared regretfully at the girls. Look how much fun they were having. Without her. Well, Wendy did say she didn’t want to join them, but she thought at first they were only doing it for her, make her feel better, pity her. Or perhaps this sleepover was planned beforehand, and they wanted to ask Wendy to join. No… they would’ve asked earlier, she felt like—except she spent the better part of 2 hours making a potion. But more definitely they only asked her now to help Wendy feel better. Still… they could have been hoping her to join, and would’ve worked around the fact she was tiny. No, where’s the sense in-

“Do you want to go over there, Child?” Carla asked.

Wendy was startled out of her thoughts. Now that she thinks about it… she would’ve loved to be over there. Laughing, playing with friends, putting guild business aside for a normal night of fun. But Wendy was afraid to, looking so tiny and buggish. She would suffer embarrassment over there, being so much younger and smaller, she couldn’t fit in right with the lot of them. But the fact they welcomed her… even if it was out of pity, was that really worse than turning a blind eye like she was never there. …It really wasn’t.

“Yes. I do. Take me, Carla, please?”

“I’m not sure, Child… they seem pretty riled up-”

“Come on, Carla, pretty please?”

She was kneeled on her paws, hands folded and tiny eyes pleading. Truth be told, Carla wouldn’t be the one deciding this if Wendy was normal size, but at the moment, she wasn’t in much position or power without Carla or anyone’s consent. She was very worried for her child. But treating her like an insect wouldn’t make her feel any better. Wendy clearly knew the risks herself and was making the choice to go over there. So Carla conceded. “Okay.”

Wendy was joyous as Carla jumped off the table and carried her to the trio. As the group of immeasurably _giant_ girls grew closer, locked in their pillow fight, Wendy got the very sensation she were going solo on an S-class Quest.

“Excuse me, girls.” The trio immediately froze. “Wendy has something to say.” As Carla raised Wendy in her paws to them, the girls crawled over and stared close.

Already, Wendy’s heart was racing, taking note of how low they had to crouch to get level with her. Hoping the redness in her face was too small to be seen, Wendy braved the risks and spoke. “I-I would like to be part of your s-slumber party now.”

Smiles appeared on each of them instantly. “All right! I’m glad you changed your mind! Thank you, Carla.” Lisanna reached forward, her thumb and index fingers planting on the front and back of Wendy’s little body as the child felt herself lifting into the air.

“Be gentle with her, now.” Carla stated, trusting the three girls and going to sit by the wall.

It was the most heart-racing feeling, her feet dangling miles above the surface, for this very moment, the outcome of Wendy’s life depended upon the state of Lisanna’s fingers. Right here were three girls who could end Wendy’s life in the split of a second, the very reason she was afraid of stepping out of her house. Their gargantuan bodies, clothed in simple comfy pajamas and bare feet, bright casual smiles on their faces, it was scary to think how powerless Wendy was. “Well, what should we do next?” Lucy asked.

“Now that Wendy’s here,” began Lisanna, happily holding Wendy eye-level and letting her stand on her thumb while the index touched her head, “let’s play Find the Wendy!”

Wendy was sweating so much, she might just dehydrate. “W-W-What’s that about?”

“We’re going to close our eyes and you’re going to hide somewhere in the room.” She explained. “The first one to find you in 5 minutes scores two slices of the cake we saved in the fridge. But if you stay hidden in that time, YOU get first crack, and get the rest of the slices when you’re bigger!”

“I should warn you, no one stays hidden from these eyes.” Levy winked.

“So are ya ready?” Lucy smirked.

“O-Okay. I’ll do my best.”

“Okay. You have ‘til a hundred!” All three girls on their knees, Lisanna set Wendy beside her left foot before huddling with them. “One-” “Two-” “Three-” “Four-” All took turns counting.

Wendy frantically looked for a place to hide. There were many items around the vast rugged plain, but the girls were so huge, they could snuff her out in no time. Under some pages of Levy’s book? No, they might plant their hand on the cover and squish her flat. Inside of Lucy’s boot? She can’t imagine that ending too well. Under the clothing of Lisanna’s stuffed Natsu doll? A good idea, but Wendy had the strange desire to do better. She looked everywhere for a decent place, maybe a tear in the rug, or get Carla to lift her to the house, or-!

The tiny little mage ran swiftly across the great carpet plain, to the colossus that was her Exceed companion. “Pssssst! Carlaaaaaa!”

“Wh…Wendy?” Carla saw her approaching with surprise. Wendy stopped running and gestured her over with an excited smile.

“Okay, here we come.” Lucy announced, so with that, the three teens began crawling about the room in search of their hider. Levy was the most wary, wanting to prove her keen eyesight, but flinched when her hand pressed onto her book. She opened and quickly flipped the beginning pages, but when she found nothing, “Phew. Smart not hiding in there, Wendy.”

As Lucy crawled around observantly, she soon came upon her boots. She grabbed and held them both upside-down, shaking out small bits of dirt. “Awww. Coulda sworn.”

Lisanna was inspecting her Natsu doll for any rips, until she saw Carla a few feet away, twitching irritably. “Carla, what’s wrong? Are you cold?”

“A-a- I-I… NNNNSSSH!” Unable to contain the itch, she bonked something out of her right ear and furiously scratched.

Although the carpet was soft, the impact made Wendy woozy. It was all the more unsettling when dark shadows fell over her, and three pairs of massive feet stood firm. The girls towered as high as skyscrapers, but most terrifying of all was Lucy. “Were you hiding in CARLA this whole time?!” she thundered.

“Ehehehehehe, there wasn’t anything in the rules. .”

“You weren’t supposed to let someone HELP you.” The temper in her voice was rising. “That’s called CHEATING.”

“I didn’t know that, I’m sorry!” As though Wendy’s blunders couldn’t get any worse. Now Lisanna and Levy shared Lucy’s scowl.

“Well, you’re GONNA know. You know what happens to tiny little CHEATERS, right?”

“I’m SORRY, Lucy, please forgive me, I-I didn’t mean to, I just, huff-fff.” Tears quickly spilled down her face. Ultimately helpless in her state, she begged for mercy.

“GET HER, GIRLS.”

Feeling a strong wind from the shifting of their bodies, she sensed what was to come. “P-Please, nooOOOOOOAA HAHAHAHAhahahahahahaha!” Yes, all girls had grabbed little white pillow feathers and gave Wendy the tickling of her life. “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! P-Please STOP, I’m BEGGING YOU!”

“Nooooo you cheated Wendy, you’re gonna get what’s comin’.”

“I learned my lesson, just please STOP, ah HAH HA hahahahahaha!”

“I think she gets it.” Lucy said, the girls allowing her to breathe.

Wendy needed a few moments to get the last few laughs out, rub off the tickles, and recover her breath. “But Carla’s the one who chose to hide me. How come SHE doesn’t get punished??”

The Exceed in question was still scratching her ear. “Huh?” She looked up at the sound of her name.

“Hmmm… hadn’t thought of that.” Lisanna noticed.

“Hehe, I guess we should do something about it!” Levy grinned.

The next second, six vicious dark eyes were narrowed on the unsuspecting kitten. “Uuuummm…”

“Igot’ertail!” Lucy cried.

“Herpawsaremine!” Lisanna announced.

“No escape, Carla!” Levy said.

“Hey-! Hey-! UnHAND me, ladies!” Carla was helplessly trapped within the dogpile of 3 girls.

The next second more, she was clothed in an adorable froggy jumpsuit. “There. You have to wear that all day tomorrow!” Lucy winked.

“And if you don’t, we’ll come get you.” Levy followed.

The white-furred kitten was red, concealing deep embarrassment. “Wendy, Dear… please say something.”

When the three girls turned back to their tiny companion, it looked as though she would explode any second. “PAH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You’re so silly, Carla, I can’t stand- HAHAHAHAhahahahaha! Hahahaha ha ha ha…” She calmed down after a while, wiping the tears to get her sight back. Seeing the unending stares of her three friends, her desire to laugh faded and she blushed. “S-Sorry…” She shifted her foot and looked down. “She’s usually so serious, so seeing her in that frog suit kind of… hehe. I looked really stupid, huh.”

“No, of course not!” Lisanna beamed. “You’re really adorable when you laugh.”

“I…I am?”

“Well, your voice is kinda squeaky from where we’re sitting, so that probably had an affect.” Levy figured. “Don’t be ashamed of it, though, if you wanna laugh, then laugh.”

“Oh… then… HAHAHAHAHAhahahahahaha! Ah hahahahahahahaha!” She was rolling on her back and clutching her stomach as though it would burst. “Ah hahahaha-”

“You’re gonna break your voice box if you keep at it, settle down.” Lucy remarked, pinning Wendy under her finger so she’d quit.

“Sorry.” ^^;

“Well, what game should we play next?” Lisanna asked. “With someone as tiny as Wendy, you’d think there’d be loads of things we can do.”

“If it’s any consolation to you…” Wendy spoke sheepishly, “I’d just like to have a normal slumber party. I was hoping we could put my size aside for a while. Just talk to each other like normal.”

“OKAY, SO SHOULD WE TALK TO YOU WITH NORMAL INSIDE VOICES?” Levy asked casually.

“OOOOOWWWW! No, don’t!” Wendy clamped her ears shut. She only just remembered the girls were speaking in low voices, since their moderate voices were equivalent to screaming now. She was thankful of them for doing that.

“Hmhmhm, just kidding, Wendy.” Lucy laughed. “But if it’s what you want, let’s play Truth or Dare.”

“Borrowed this from Cana just for the occasion.” Lisanna winked, holding a (mostly) empty beer bottle.

With that, all four girls got in a circle as Lisanna was the first to spin. “Lucy! Truth or Dare?”

“Truth.”

“Did you ever kiss Natsu?” she asked with her lips puckered.

“NO I DID NOT. STOP thinking I like hi—oh, sorry Wendy.”

“’t’s okay.”

“Okay, my turn.” Lucy spun the bottle. “Levy, Truth or Dare?”

“I’ll go for a dare.”

“Okay. Sneak into Erza’s room and steal her strawberry cake slice.”

Levy gulped. “Uh-h-h-h-h-h, maybe I’ll take-”

“Too late, Levy, you have to do it!” Wendy said brightly.

Levy knew she couldn’t deny it. “Ohhh… okay.” Great fear racing through her heart, Levy crept into the hallway.

The girls merely sat with casual, expectant faces. They knew it would happen. What mattered now was time. At that instant, a bear’s furious growl was heard from Erza’s room, lots of crashing and thrashing before Levy stormed back inside and slammed the door. “Please don’t make me go back there, I tried, I really did!”

“Okay, you still get half points.” Lucy allowed. “Your turn.”

Levy returned to the circle and spun. “Wendy, you’re up.”

“I pick Truth.”

“Okay. Which of us do you think is the cutest?” ;)

Wendy really didn’t know how to respond. All three girls were staring at her with eager eyes, all hoping to be deemed the prettiest. How would the other two feel when she made her choice? She was afraid to hurt their feelings, even more so when she was in no position to defend herself should they get mad. …She almost thought it a better choice to pick Dare; though no telling what they’d make her do.

“If you don’t answer,” began Lucy, raising a feather, “we have-”

“LUCY!” Wendy outbursted to avoid more tickle-torture. “She has the biggest chest— _mmp_!” Definitely not the answer she wanted to say aloud. Her face was a tomato topped with blue leaves, afraid to take her hands off her mouth in fear that her breath would escape, too. The girls just stared, before Levy and Lisanna glanced at Lucy. _“Yeah, I see it.”_ they stated simply.

“ _Thanks_ , Wendy.” Lucy sighed.

“Wendy’s turn.” Lisanna announced. “I’ll help with that.” She spun the bottle herself, and who better to stop on. “Oh! It’s me.”

“I dare you to… act like Levy!” was all she could come up with.

“Oh?” At first, Lisanna didn’t seem very amazed. However: “Well… all right!” So with that, she swiped Levy’s magic glasses and whipped open her book, “I’m Levy and my thirst for knowledge and nerdiness is so deep, I’ll use my magic glasses to know EVERYthing in the world!”

Levy’s cheeks reddened. “Yeah, well I’m Lisanna, and I… uh…” Surely, Lisanna had something to make fun of. Far as she could recall, she was… “I’m Lisanna, and I’m so PERFECT and great at everything, I’m adored by everyone, and I can even survive—”

“GYAAAAAAH SPOILERS!” Lucy silenced, blocking the readers’ vision.

“ _Everybody_ knows.” Carla mumbled.

“Yokay, let’s just stop this whole thing, you girls are getting really immat-”

“I’m Lucy and BOY am I perky!” Lucy looked astonished when tiny, squeaky Wendy began posing cutely, intending to mock her. “Even though I can’t hold a job, at LEAST I got my spunkin’ hot body.” She bent one leg back and touched a finger to her chin, eyes sparkling, “I have so many eyes googling at me, I find it hard to confess my true feelings for Natsu, whom I want to have all alone in my bedroom so I can kiss all night!” With that, she zipped over to the (big) Natsu doll and buried herself in its invisible mouth. _“Mw-mw-mw, mw-mw-mw, mwwwwww…”_

Lucy’s redness far surpassed the others. “YEAH, well I’M Wendy.” She squatted and blushed like the young wizard she was imitating. “I’m so young and insecure, everybody’s so much better than me, I can’t help but trip on my own two feet, apologizing for everything I say, I’m probly the biggest loser in Fairy Tail, I should just pack up and—…” After tracing her own words, and seeing the frozen expression on her friends, Lucy felt as though she’d gone too far. The smaller wizard’s head was down and she was shaking from their view, so they expected her to cry any second. “I…I didn’t mean that.”

“N-No, it’s OK.” Wendy forced a smile. “That IS how I’m like! Ha ha ha ha ha!”

The girls had trouble believing that. They didn’t expect Wendy to be the person who can take a joke without trouble, and her laugh sounded nervous and forced. “You… sure?” Lisanna asked. “You looked really upset. Like you were about to cry.”

“Of course not!” Wendy said half-truthfully, masking her hurt beneath her smile. “Whaddyou think I am, a baby?”

“There’s no shame in crying, you know, Wendy.” Levy told her honestly. “Crying shows that you have emotions, and it’s a healthy way of letting out the bad ones. When you do, you create room for happier feelings.”

“I never thought of it that way. But I thought you guys liked it when I laughed.”

“Wendy, friends are supposed to feel comfortable around each other.” Lucy said warmly. “We want you to show us openly how you feel. Let us hear your feelings. Laugh if you’re happy, but if you’re sad, just cry.”

“Oh… then…” Wendy allowed her hurt feelings to rise to the top of her emotions, and within seconds, tears fell. To the ears of her friends, her sniffles and choked wails were squeaky. Thinking about it, they were glad Wendy wasn’t too small so as to go unheard, instead her voice box was so tiny it released in the form of squeaks. This way, they were glad to be able to hear her.

“Would you tell us what you’re upset about?” Lisanna asked openly.

“Sniff sniff, because I’m the weakest wizard in Fairy Tail, now I’m so tiny and weak and powerless! I’m afraid of being small, I hate having to make all my friends protect me, and everything Lucy said about me is true!” The tears fell like waterfalls, Wendy’s hands and dress becoming damp as she wiped them. “I know I made fun of her first so she deserved revenge, but I just hate being reminded that!”

From afar, Carla was a little detested, the three girls smiling at Wendy’s moment of weakness. But these were actually warm, proud smiles. Slowly but surely, the tears were running short. It felt as though all her tears were contained inside her heart, but now she emptied them out. “Wow… that was wonderful.” She smiled. “And I shouldn’t feel ashamed for any of it?”

“Not at all, Wendy.” Lucy replied. “Your feelings make you who you are. Be proud of them.”

“Okay… I will.” Wendy wiped a few more away. “Besides… better than having a bunch of perverts swarm me like Lucy!” she declared. “I bet her novel’s gonna be centered around nothing but those mountain-size boobs!!”

“THAT IS **IT** , I’M GONNA _KILL_ YOU YOU LITTLE WORM!” Lucy was sensitive too, and she would demonstrate this by stomping around in attempt to crush Wendy flat. Laughing with utmost joy, Wendy’s spirit coupled with her wind magic gave her the energy to run around with fly-like speed. “STOP **MOVING**.”

“Ha ha ha ha!” Even from a dangerous size as this, making Lucy mad sure was fun. “WAAAH!”

“GOTCHA!” Lucy had Wendy trapped between her toes. “Nowhere to run NOW ya little—OOOW!” Wendy’s teeth had the strength of a bugbite, enough to make Lucy release.

“I have other skills besides Wind Magic!” Wendy proclaimed. “Though now I need to brush my teeth, ‘cause your feet taste as bad as they smell.”

“GRRRR WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!” The furious Celestial Mage was now held back by the others.

“That’s enough, Lucy, wait until she’s bigger!” Levy reasoned.

“Yes, that’s quite enough Truth or Dare.” Carla told them with disapproval. “Switch to something a little more calming, if you will.”

“Siiiigh…” Lucy was calm enough for them to let go. “Well, we could always paint nails.”

“That sounds like fun!” Wendy beamed. “Let’s do it!”

Levy went to the drawer and brought back four bottles of polish. “Pick your colors.”

“I call white!” Lisanna raised her hand.

“Yellow for me, thanks.” Lucy chose.

“I want blue!” Wendy cheered.

“Guess I have green.” Levy smiled, setting each bottle beside their chosen painters. She and Lisanna began to paint each other’s nails, leaving only Wendy with Lucy.

“Aren’t you a… little small for this?” Lucy asked. “You can’t even pick up a brush.”

“No problem! Lay the bottle down.”

Confused, Lucy laid down the jar of gold paint. Wendy climbed inside and merely submerged herself inside the substance, coming out totally gold. “Now put me on!”

Lucy gently took her in her fingers and placed her on her big toenail. She began skiing like a ballerina on ice, leaving a tiny trail of gold paint in her wake. “Wow, Wendy. Way to get creative!”

“Hehe, thank you.” Wendy formed a golden heart from her skiing (a reference to Lucy’s name) before leaping to the next toe, where she danced about and made Fairy Tail’s icon. Lucy’s feet possessed an odor, but none that bothered Wendy for the time being.

“About what I said earlier… I never really meant it.” Lucy said.

“I know you didn’t, I didn’t mean what I said either. We were only having fun, just joking around.”

“You sure did cry a lot, though.”

“Well, I was a little offended.” Wendy bent down and rubbed paint on the middle nail. “I was hurt because all that’s true about me. I try my very best to be a part of you, but most of the time I…”

“Well, none of us feel that way about you, Wendy, remember that. I was kind of the same when I joined Fairy Tail. You shouldn’t feel that way, either, you’re an extremely big help for us. Your healing magic saved us a ton of times, and your Dragon Slayer magic looks really powerful from where I stand. You need to stop feeling so doubtful in yourself, ‘cause I think you’re great.”

Wendy made it to the ring toe, where she lied and began making a paint angel. “Thanks, Lucy. That means a lot.” For the next few seconds, the two of them exchanged friendly smiles. Wendy then leapt to the pinky nail and drew somebody’s head with her finger. “Hahaha! It’s Natsu! Wanna kiss?”

“Okay, Smartypants,” Lucy fought a twitch, “your turn.”

“Waaaaah!” Wendy was lifted off her feet and dipped into the jar of sea-blue paint, her legs entirely drenched. “Hey, this is more than my fair share!”

“Uck, you’re making a mess of yourself.” Carla stated firmly, coming to take Wendy in her paws. “You’re getting a bath, then it’s straight to bed.”

“Nooo, Carla, I don’t want a bath, I wanna stay up with my friends!!” She shook and protested like a 4-year-old.

“It’s okay, Wendy.” Lisanna smiled. “We’re getting a little drowsy, _yaaaaawn_ , we might hit the hay soon.”

“Let’s get you scrubbed extra clean, Child, it’ll take a miracle with the mess you have.” Carla drew on as she carried her master to the bathroom.

_“Mmmmm, this is so unfair, I don’t need a bath, I don’t.”_

**Bathroom**

Since Wendy was far too small for the tub or the sink, Carla filled up a flat, plastic glass with hot water and poured soap inside to make bubbles. Wendy was unclothed as Carla set her inside. “For the last time, Carla, I don’t need someone to bathe me, I’m a big girl, I can take care of myself.” She argued with the most flustered face.

“Well, you don’t seem to be holding me in your arms and doing the same, so one of us is wrong.” Carla said as she began to scrub the paint off Wendy.

“Mmmmm.” Wendy couldn’t argue with that. She always fixed a nice mini tub and scrubbed Carla’s fur nice and clean, it felt embarrassing for the soap to be on the other paw.

“You were having an awfully fun time with them, it looked like.” the cat mentioned. “You certainly know how to laugh at my expense.”

“Heheheh. Yeah, I was.” Her redness died down. “You know, I’m really glad I woke up to join them. They’re such wonderful friends. Now I feel like I’m really part of the guild.”

“And it only took seven years.” Carla joked. “I’m glad you’re feeling better now, Child.”

The door came open, both girls looking to see Erza walk in in a bathrobe. “Oh!” She froze when she saw Wendy’s, em, embarrassing state. “S-Sorry, Wendy, I’ll… come back later.”

“Hehehehe. It’s okay. Hey, Scarlet, have you ever cried?”

“What?”

“It’s the most wonderful feeling in the world! You should try it!”

“…Hm.” Erza had no idea why Wendy was so spirited about crying, but she sounded very sure of herself. “I’ll keep that in mind. …You know, Levy snuck into my room earlier trying to steal my cake. I was saving it for you after you got bigger.”

“R-Really? You didn’t have t-”

“I did. Until you are, I’ll behead anyone who tries to take it. See you tomorrow.” She left.

“You’re having quite the banquet after this.” Carla noticed. “Talk about being adored by everyone.”

That is what it felt like, Wendy realized. They made fun of Lisanna and Lucy for that… it was actually a good feeling. “Yeah…”

Once Wendy was good and clean, and Carla gave her a pajama dress Lisanna made for her earlier, the Exceed carried Wendy to her model house. The others had gotten in sleeping bags and fallen asleep, the room filled with their snores. “Are you tired now, Child?” Carla asked warmly. “I’ll rock you to sleep if you’d like.”

“No thank you. I… yaaaaawwwwn.”

Wendy’s eyes were heavy, body growing numb in the softness of Carla’s paws, the kitten swaying her softly. How adorable Wendy looked in her view… it was times like this Carla truly felt like a mother to her. Even though Wendy hatched her egg and raised her, Carla became the mature one, and there was nothing she loved more than helping Wendy grow. Carla, the strict and protective mother, Wendy the bashful energetic child. That’s how it was always like between them.

She lifted the roof of the little house and placed Wendy softly on the cottonball, pulling the tiny blanket over her. “Good night, Child…” Carla closed the roof and got onto her own mat under the table, falling asleep. Wendy shifted on the soft, fluffy substance, never knowing any greater warmth. The hypnotic sounds of her friends’ distant snores, the cloud-like bed that gave her the sensation of floating… her sleep would be filled with pleasant dreams.

**The next morning**

It was the greatest sleep Wendy ever had. Staying up late and playing with her friends uplifted her spirits; she knew she wouldn’t get much rest with a sorrowful, guilty conscience, she had to admit. Her friends really did make her feel better. That night, she could fully enjoy the softness and comfort the cottonball provided; the snoring of her friends outside was hypnotic and allowed her to rest in peace. Now the sun was up, piercing the bedroom window with its rays, and reached through Wendy’s tiny window, too. She sat up and stretched, having almost completely forgotten she was the size of an insect. She just couldn’t be afraid about it now.

She went into the kitchen and approached the word-made fridge. Remembering Levy’s instructions, Wendy wrote ‘Hungry’ into the blank spot with her finger, allowing her to open and take a huge apple crumb. She happily sat at the table and began to eat. From another’s perspective, she might look like an ant digging its pinchers into a simple crumb that fell on the picnic blanket. She understood why ants did this now: food was even more tasty when you’re small, and came in even larger quantities. Just one apple would set Wendy for life. She still really wanted to be big again, but no matter how long she had to stay this way, she knew she could rely on her friends to protect her.

By the time she had her fill of the crumb, three loud, consecutive taps echoed outside. A great blue eye was peering outside her window, one that belonged to the vibrant, light-colored face of Lisanna. “Good morning, Wendy.” she greeted once the former came to the window. “It’s Fairy Tail’s day off, so a lot of us are heading for the beach. Care to join?”

“Uhhh… the beach?” Wendy frowned in worry. “But I don’t have a bathing suit.”

“No problem! I knitted this up myself.” So with that, Lisanna held up a white one-piece with a white skirt by the strands in her fingers, just Wendy’s size.

“Th-That?!” Wendy flushed. The last thing she wanted was to be in a swimsuit in front of a bunch of girls that looked _better_ in swimsuits.

“What’s wrong? You don’t like it?”

“N-No, it’s… well, okay.” She’d rather not disappoint them.

“Great!” Lisanna gave her the suit through the window as Wendy returned inside for some privacy. She later stepped out the door wearing the skinny clothing, posing in a bashful, though very cute fashion.

“Awesome!” Lucy perked. “But get a load of OURS!”

Wendy’s fears came true. Lucy and Levy were all behind Lisanna as all three showed off their outfits: Lucy had a blue bikini with white edges, Levy a bikini with red and white stripes, and Lisanna wore a one-piece that matched her hair, with a pink flower on the chest. “This is exactly what I was AFRAAAAID OOOOOF!” She fell to her knees and started crying in shame.

“Oh, chill out, Wendy. Yours’ll get bigger by the time you’re our age.” Lucy assured her.

“Th-THAT’S not what I’m afraid of!” She flushed redder. “I-I was only crying because!….”

“All right, the model contest is over.” Carla stated, walking onto the table to take Wendy in her paws. “You’re making Wendy feel uncomfortable.”

“I am NOT, Carla, put me down!” She shook like an angry 5-year-old.

“Relax, Wendy, Master Makarov’s bound to return sooner or later. When he does, you’ll be nice and new again.” Levy promised.

“All our friends will be at the beach.” Carla said comfortingly. “They’ll make sure no harm comes to you.”

Wendy wiped her tears and calmed down after a few sniffles. “Okay. Th-Thanks, guys.”

“Last one there is buyin’ drinks!” Lucy declared before they all piled out of the dorm.

Carla set Wendy on her head. “Well, then we shouldn’t dawdle here.” The Exceed took flight out the window as Wendy held tight from the gentle breeze.

**Shadow Empress**

“NEXT TIME I trust you to carry something important, I EXPECT you to listen! Got that?!” Cassandra thundered, having finally finished administering punishment to poor little Violeta.

“Y-y-y…yes…” The child contained her tears with all her strength, the bruises on her head hidden beneath her candy-pink hair.

“Are we gonna do anything…” Maya asked lazily, a finger twisting up her nose.

“At least that clumsy Fairy mage dropped it, too.” Cassie said, holding the gold locket with a rainbow jewel. “I don’t know how Moneybucks got ahold of this, but this jewel was a powerful magical relic that belonged to the dragons. Legends say the dragons used it to control nature itself by imbuing it with their elemental powers. But then wizards got ahold of it and used the power for themselves, causing a great battle. In the end, the dragons took it back and drained it of its power.”

“And the only way to give it power again is to steal the Dragon Slayers’ magic, right?” Violet asked, wishing to prove that she was listening before.

“Indeed.” Cassie didn’t show much interest in her memory. “But we of Shadow Empress have harnessed energy from special stones we’ve discovered belonged to the dragons, you should know that. We can add our power to the gem… but to truly bear power over nature, we need the power of a Sky Dragon, one who can control the wind that sweeps the world. The rumors say that she belongs in Fairy Tail.”

The memory flashed in Violet’s mind: she was chased helplessly by the furious Thrino, but its attention was averted elsewhere, to the blue-haired maiden that cried her cyclone. _“Sky Dragon ROOOOAAAAR!”_

“Oh!” Vi raised her hand like a student knowing the answer to a question. “I met the Sky Dragon Slayer, in the forest!! I ran into her and she saved me from the monster!”

“WHAT?! You ran into her?!”

“Y-Y…Yes.” Violet shuddered, afraid to ask how that sentence was confusing. “She had blue hair, and she-”

“If you hadn’t dropped that necklace, you could have TAKEN her power while we were distracting those Fairies!”

“B-But I didn’t KNOW; you never mentioned having to need the Dragon-”

“Don’t blame this whole thing on me! Now we’ll have to confront those Fairies directly to have a shot; unless we can get that Dragon Slayer by herself. I’M keeping the necklace this time, but you’d better fight to your last breath if you don’t want what I have in store for you.”

“Y-Yes, Ma’am.” Violet bowed. “I’ll risk all I have to help catch the Dragon Slayer.”

**Fairy Beach**

Almost everyone from Fairy Tail had come on this scorching hot day, the sun bright in the cloudless sky and the ripples of the ocean glittering. Natsu, Gray, and Elfman were playing volleyball against Erza, Juvia, and Mirajane. When Natsu set the ball on fire upon his punch, flying it like a meteor, Erza’s kick was far more powerful, sending the ball straight through the net and exploding it on the boys’ side, knocking them down. “Heeeey, no fair! You can’t do that, Erza!” Natsu protested.

“It’s a battle of strength and attentiveness, Natsu.”

“Oh my Gray, I hope I was not too hard!” Juvia cried.

“That was a… MANLY kick.” Elfman moaned.

Lucy laid down her towel and rubbed on sunscreen, Carla beside her with Wendy on top. “You two can use my towel.” Lucy offered. “Need any sunscreen?” She put a small glob on her index and held it to Wendy.

“Sure.” Wendy sunk her hands in the glob and rubbed a fair amount around her. “I can’t imagine much to do when I’m like this. Volleyball, Frisbee…”

“Just walk around and socialize.” Lucy replied, lying down and catching a tan. “I’m sure they’d all love to see how you’re doing.”

“I should handle the walking part.” Carla stated.

“Relax, Carla, I can look after myself!” Wendy said positively. “Put me down.” The Exceed complied and set Wendy on the sand. At her new size, she couldn’t enjoy the feel of sand between her toes as the grains were slightly bigger, but she felt the warmth stronger than ever. “. . . . .. Ouchie ouchie ouchie ouchie hothothothothothothot myfeet myfeet myfeet myfeet myfeet—eyaaaahh!!” Wendy impulsively dashed across the scorching sand, once again moving at unmatched speed with her wind magic. “OOF!”

She collided with a giant peach wall and fell back. “Huh? Wendy?” When she came to, she realized it was a giant foot. It had a more masculine appearance, a strong leg going into purple trunks, followed by a bare, muscular body, ending at a boy with dark-purple hair and blue eyes.

“Heheheheheheh.” Wendy smiled and flushed goofily. Romeo Conbolt was 6 years younger than her, but because of their “timeskip”, he was older and taller, and much more handsome. Even he was stronger than Wendy, much to her shame, due to his passion to be like his hero, and Wendy had to admire that passion. He was gorgeous and hot as fire to Wendy’s eyes, and she felt so very embarrassed for him to see her like this. “H-h-h-hi, Romeo.”

“Oh, man!” Romeo knelt down. “I didn’t almost step on you, did I? My dad told me what happened and I was wondering… I’m really sorry, Wendy.”

“No, it’s okay.” She grinned sheepishly. “I’m just fine, really.”

“That’s good.” He smiled in relief. “Still, you probably shouldn’t be on the ground. Want me to carry you?” He held an inviting hand down.

It was the most embarrassed Wendy’s ever been. A boy she idolized, found very cute, holding a welcoming hand to her. Wendy knew the moment she would step on, she would be more helpless than ever. But still, no reason to turn this down. “O-O-O-Okay.” She climbed onto his finger and walked to his palm. 

From afar, Carla watched as Romeo carried her master away. “That sneaky boy…” she said with a glare.

“Oh, relax, Carla, I think they look cute together.” Lucy smiled.

“I think this is our first time actually meeting.” Romeo said, holding Wendy chest level. “You probably don’t remember me, but I was a little boy when you first joined the guild. You know, before Tenrou Island?”

“Yes, I remember you.” Wendy shifted her feet. “You’ve really grown.”

“Hehe, and you’ve really shrunk!” Romeo grinned. “I mean… no offense.”

“It’s okay.” Wendy felt like shrinking at the statement. “Your hands are really warm.” They were very easing on her feet, too.

“Thanks. Been gettin’ really good at Fire Magic. I’d show you, but, your size and all… You’re a Sky Dragon Slayer, aren’t you?”

“Y-Yeah, I am!”

“Then you use Wind Magic, right? I heard that wind can actually make flames stronger. I bet you and I would make a good team.”

“Y-You think so??” Wendy was redder than a schoolgirl in love.

“Sure. You’re on Natsu’s team a lot, I bet you make his flames enormous.”

Was this sunscreen working, Wendy wasn’t sure. “E-E-E-Enormous-in-a-matter-of-speaking—I mean his abs are stronger, but that doesn’t mean—not his abs, his FLAMES—WHICH I DON’T ACTUALLY MAKE BIGGER—because they’re at a great enough size al—” Again Wendy felt the urge to shrink smaller.

“Are you okay?”

“I’M SORRY.” Wendy wiggled her toes and shifted her body absentmindedly, speaking with a squeakier, cuter voice, “I’ve just been a little slow lately and I can’t think straight, call me ditzy if you will, itsy-bitsy ditzy, what I’m trying to say is, can you please set me down someplace so I can cool?”

“Oh… all right.” So Romeo carried Wendy to a nearby palm tree, placing her in the shade. “I hope we can talk later, though. I think you have really cool powers and I’d love to fight with you someday.” On that note, Romeo let her be.

Wendy lay against the tree, smiling at his back and blushing. She took a breath and eased herself, looking around the beach. Everywhere else beyond the shade was scorching, so getting around wouldn’t be easy. She probably shouldn’t on her own. She knew just how an ant felt, skittering innocently along the beach, unsuspecting as she was crushed beneath somebody’s feet. The beach shook beneath people’s steps, voices echoing the miles, and she clearly determined their size and mass from ground level. Especially the violent volleyball taking place between boys and girls, it was dangerous to go around defenseless. Maybe she should just rest.

Wendy was brought out of her thoughts when a darker shadow fell over her, joined by a light quaking. Looking up, she saw another huge pair of feet, though not nearly as big as Lucy’s or the others’. Wendy directed up the pair of legs that vanished into the pink one-piece, finally meeting the pair of big, purple, curious eyes that belonged to the child with a thumb in her mouth.

“Asuka!” Wendy smiled at the 5-year-old. “Hahaha! You surprised me!”

The child said nothing, but kept her gaze on Wendy. She bent down and gently picked the wizard up in her fingers. “Whoooa! E-Easy, easy!”

Wendy was a little frightened, since children can tend to be rough with little things. She swung Wendy around lightly, a little confused. Asuka recognized the blue-haired maiden, but could’ve sworn she was much bigger normally. Being so young, she wasn’t aware that humans don’t usually get small. “Ha ha ha ha! Yes, Suka, it’s me.” Wendy assured her brightly. “You can stop swinging.”

Still sucking the thumb of her other hand, Asuka set Wendy down onto her big toe, which Wendy was roughly the size of. “I know it’s not how I usually look, but- aaaaaahh! Hey! Heeeey!” Asuka raised her foot and lightly swung it around, smiling as Wendy wrapped arms around the toe. “Careful, Suka, you’re making me dizzy!”

Finished playing, Asuka picked Wendy up, tilt her head back, and set the tiny mage on her nasal bridge, squishing her eyes together to see. “Hehehehehehehe!” Wendy adored her childish antics. “You’re so funny, Asuka! Hey, try to catch me!” She leapt down onto the sand – not a far or painful drop for the Sky Maiden, and began running around joyfully, feeling the quakes of Asuka’s tiny feet as she chased with arms outstretched. “Faster, Suka! You’ll never catch me like-” Her eyes were closed while she ran, opening them just in time to see an incoming short mountain – really a rock that was lodged into the ground, waiting to trip someone. She dodged swiftly to the right, but Asuka was not so lucky as her left foot collided with it full force, the child falling on her front. “Oh! Asuka!!” Wendy gasped.

The child lifted her sand-covered face up. Her adorable purple eyes began welling with tears, and her mouth threatened to burst open in wails. _“Sniff…sniff…”_

“H-Hold on. Let me take a look.” Wendy ran around to Asuka’s feet lying soles-up. She was sad to see the nail on her left toe cracked, plus a bruise that looked less-than-sightly from Wendy’s viewpoint. “I-I’m sorry, Suka! It’s all my fault, really! D-Don’t worry… I’ll help.” She approached the bruise with a calmer aura, taking a few breaths. Her face became determined as she planted both hands on the toe. _“Sky Dragon Healing Touch.”_ A gentle green aura brimmed from her hands and encased the whole toe. Asuka’s tears subsided, and she no longer felt the urge to cry: the nail repaired itself to normal form, and the bruise back to normal color. “And one last thing to seal the deal.” Wendy smiled and planted a small kiss on the spot where her hands just touched. “There! Call it your invisible band-aid!”

Asuka rolled onto her back, wiggling the toe as though she had no idea what happened, like all of that pain was just in her head. Her heart was pure again, switching onto her front to allow Wendy the sight of her gracious smile up close. As Wendy returned this, feeling sheepish as well, she didn’t notice the child’s evil smirk. “WHOOA!” Asuka was smarter than Wendy gave credit, having not forgotten their previous game, successfully cupping both hands over the tiny unsuspecting mage. She stood up while keeping both hands balled, opening to view the tiny Wendy on a sand patch. “Heh heh heh heh! Okay, you caught me!”

Asuka happily swung Wendy around some more. She then placed the smaller girl on her dark-green hair and began walking around the beach. “Heh heh heh. With my new size, I bet _you’re_ even stronger than me. I wonder if my Sky Dragon attacks would even scratch you, Suka.”

Asuka only swayed her head to a tune only she could hear. She really wasn’t much for talking.

“They probly wouldn’t affect anyone. Be just like a little breeze to them. Siiigh… I feel so useless most of the time.” Wendy’s smile vanished. “Even before this, I feel so small next to everyone. You know what I mean, don’t you Suka?”

Her arms were stretched to the side now. Wendy got the impression Asuka thought she was flying.

“Of course you do. You’re younger than I am.” she spoke more matter-of-factly. “You don’t even _have_ magic powers, do you?”

Asuka didn’t show any signs of listening, still.

“Well, no. _Maybe_ you do. You just haven’t discovered ‘em yet. If anything, you would learn Gun Magic like your parents.”

This seemed to register a response, as Asuka stopped, put on a scowl, and pretended to shoot a gun at the sea.

“Sometimes I forget you’re even in this guild.” Wendy smiled sheepishly. “I always think that I’m the weak one because I’m so young… but then there’s you. I’m not trying to call you weak or anything. Y-You just… have a lot of growing up to do. Learning magic and everything. …” Wendy looked at the sky. A small pair of clouds just finished passing the sun, seagulls flapping overhead. “And you know… so do I. I shouldn’t feel sorry for myself all the time. I can’t help that I was born after the others, and you can’t either. I need to keep doing my best so I can become as strong as them one day. I’ll never feel sorry for myself again!” She stood upon the child’s head with an aura of confidence.

It was only just then Asuka seemed to realize Wendy was there. She took her in her right hand and held her before her face. “Heh heh heh heh.” The tiny blushed. “I’m sorry. I just started talking out of nowhere. I musta sounded like such a drama queen.”

“Wendy?” Asuka turned and looked up, Wendy following as a result. Levy approached them with her eyes buried in her book, wearing glasses.

“Hey, Levy.” Wendy waved (Asuka had the courtesy to let her stand on her right palm). “What’s up?” Though she was hoping the answer wouldn’t be ‘I am’.

“…” However, it seemed Levy’s face was swallowed in guilt. She fell to her knees and burst into tears, “Wendy, I’m so sorry, it’s all my fault! I read the whole thing all wrong, I missed something important! If only I, sniff…”

It was the most tears Wendy’s ever seen Levy cry. At least from her new perspective, Levy’s tears were bigger than boulders. “Levy, i-it’s okay, I’m sure it’s nothing.” She told her with a confident smile. “Just take a breath and tell me what’s wrong.”

“Sniff… when you said you spilled the potion on yourself, I…I should’ve double-checked my reading right then! According to the book, the potion actually seeped into your skin, and it’s beginning to adapt with your body structure. If we don’t find a cure. . . .” She had to fight through more tears.

“Th-Th-Then what? I’m going to be small forever??” Wendy exclaimed.

“Worse. If nothing is done, after 24 hours passed since the first one, you’ll undergo another shrink-spurt. And then another, then another…” Now Wendy was fighting a storm of tears brewing inside her eyes. But she hadn’t the strength for what Levy said next. “You’ll just keep growing smaller and smaller. Eventually… you’ll be too small to breathe the air molecules. You’ll… _die_.”

 

**O: PLOT TWIST!! Now, it’s a race against time. I have to say, I really like writing this story; Wendy is such a fun character to write about. She was always my favorite in _Fairy Tail_ , she’s a very relatable character: she’s a shy, klutzy person that only wants to fit in with everybody and be great at what she does, and I kind of connect to that. I honestly think I caught that side of her very well. (If only she was so awesome in Gameverse. XD) So next time, the race to help Wendy. Later.**


	3. Wendy’s Adventure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The guildmates realize that Wendy only has 24 hours before she shrinks into nothing! They must quickly gather the ingredients to make a Growth Potion! But when Wendy wishes to go with her friends to Little-Big Island, she will be in for a big adventure.

**Glad to be back with this! X)**

****

**_

Chapter 3: Wendy’s Adventure

_**

****

**Fairy Beach**

A cold silence fell over the beach. Everyone looked at Levy’s crying, and now they heard why. How could so much carefree happiness be gone so fast.

“WHAAAAAAT?!?” Natsu’s rage was defined by his volume. “WENDY’S GONNA KEEP SHRINKING IF SHE ISN’T FIXED RIGHT NOOOW?”

“AAAAAH! Where are we gonna FIND a cage that small?” Happy panicked.

“THAT ISN’T THE POINT!!” Lucy shouted.

“Wendy, I’m really sorry!” Levy exclaimed, the sand wet with her tears. Wendy’s microscopic tears didn’t do much to make Asuka’s hand damp, but all of this negativity made the child upset, too. “I should’ve been more active in helping you than acting so nonchalant. I’m sorry we were… sniff!”

“Look, EVERYONE needs to calm down.” Gray announced. “Exactly what time did Wendy shrink?”

“I believe it was around 7:30 when I found her in the dorm.” Carla recounted. “It’s 12:50 now, so…!!” she panicked, “We only have 6 hours and 40 minutes until she shrinks again!!”

“And if she goes the same amount as last time, she’ll be out of our sight and hearing altogether!” Lucy exclaimed.

“Then LET’S QUIT WASTING TIME.” Natsu screamed, flames escaping his mouth. “LOOK UP the recipe and start fixing that Growth Potion RIGHT NOW.”

“I wish it was that easy.” Levy replied, already viewing the recipe. “The only problem is those Great Shrooms on Little-Big Island. The rest of the ingredients we can get in town or around the mountains, but the monsters on that island are really dangerous. Plus, where are we going to find a boat-”

 _“Ice-Make BOAT!”_ With a great surge of Ice-Maker Magic, a gloss glittering ice boat appeared from Gray’s hands. “Well, whaddya think? Will this get us to the island?” he asked as the 5-feet-long canoe rested on the shore.

“NO, but it’ll be nice for a ride through the EVERGLADES!” Lucy screamed.

“How about THIS!” Laki presented a solid, wooden ark, likely inspired from Noah’s Ark, the size of an average ship.

“RIGHT ON, Sister!” Happy cheered (Gray was jealous).

“Okay, but it still doesn’t look very fast.” Lucy said.

“Juvia’s a water-user, right?” Gray asked. “She can wave us to the island. Can’tcha, Juv?”

 _My darling Gray is depending on me to help our fellow wizard!_ Juvia was overcome with emotions. _On this very moment, when Gray has spoken highly of me, I will never feel greater shame than if I should fail._ A bright flame of passion burned in the water mage’s eyes. “I WON’T LET YOU DOWN, GRAY!!”

“Then it’s decided.” Erza proclaimed, already equipped with steel armor. “Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Laki, Juvia, and I will go to Little-Big Island and find the Great Shrooms. The rest of you, go back to Fairy Tail and get every available wizard to find the rest of these ingredients. We have until 7:30 at least to create a Growth Potion and change Wendy back. Let’s do it.” Erza and her appointed team rushed onto the ark.

“Mmmmm, can’t I stay and look for the other stuff?” Natsu moaned, always against the idea of a vehicle.

“SUCK IT UP, cabin boy.” Lucy forcibly shoved him along.

“W-Wait. What about _me_?” Wendy asked, still standing on Asuka’s hand.

“ _You_ are coming back to the guild where you’ll be safe.” Carla said firmly, taking Wendy in her paws.

“But Carla, I HAVE to go with them. I may be small, but if anyone gets injured, I have to do what I can using my Support Magic.”

“You can fix a 5-year-old’s booboo, but even the most minor gash will be too large for you, Child. I can’t take the risk-”

“Please, Carla, let me go with them.” The determination on her face was clear despite her size. “I’m not going to let my size get in the way of helping my friends. I’ll never get any experience unless I go, and I’ll help them even if it takes all of my strength.”

“But… Wendy…” Carla never expected someone like her to bear any courage at a size like this. She sounded very sure of herself… like her size wasn’t really a factor.

“Carla.” They both looked at Erza on the boat, her face stern. “I would love for Wendy to join us.”

Though Erza couldn’t see it from that far, Wendy’s gracious smile was bright. “Thank you, Erza!”

“Siiigh. Very well.” Carla conceded. “I’ll-”

“Windy-chan!” Before the Exceed sprouted her wings, Asuka called for her.

“Huh? What is it, Suka?” Wendy asked.

The child said nothing. She smiled and held her index finger to Wendy. “…Haha!” Wendy stretched her own finger forward and touched it. She deduced it as Asuka’s way of saying Wendy will be fine.

“Don’t worry, Wendy!” Lisanna called as she and many others were leaving the beach. “You’ll be big before you know it!”

“Then we haven’t time to waste.” Carla stated, flying onto the ark. “It’s time to go.”

 _“Greeeaaat WAVE!”_ With a powerful burst of magic and waving of Juvia’s arms, the ark was taken from the shore, across the sea by a strong, continuous wave.

**On the sea**

“Ooooooohhhhh…” Natsu fell ill the moment they set sail, leaning over the railing for the vomit that never came. “Are we there, yeeeeeet?”

“Get a grip on yourself, Natsu.” Lucy stated. “How long until the island?”

“Approximately half an hour away. Just 70 miles.” Laki replied, studying a map.

“So half an hour back. Oh, I hope the others get done in time.”

Carla sat on the deck table, Wendy resting on her head. The maiden bore a calm and steady aura, but inside, her heart was racing. She was so happy earlier, despite the embarrassment. The slumber party, the beach, her friends made the whole experience a joy. Why did she earn a fate like this? She hoped above hope she would be full size in time, instead of turning into a speck of dust. “Hey there.” Both of them turned as Gray sat at the table. “You doing okay?”

“I’m fine.” Wendy stated in a firm tone.

“It’s okay to feel scared, you know. I would be too if I was in your shoes. Just don’t let it affect you too much.”

 _My darling Gray is so kind and courteous to all he holds dear!_ It was hard for Juvia to focus through Gray’s speech. _How struck he would be if something happened to Wendy. I must work harder!_

“Whooooaaa easyyyyy.” The boat suddenly seemed to move faster, making Natsu woozy.

“Easy, Juvia!” Carla told her, trying to stay balanced on the table.

Just as well, Wendy held tighter to Carla’s fur when this happened. “Thanks, Gray, but I’m not scared at all.” she replied with a sure and steady aura. “I have faith in you guys. I know you can fix my mistake.”

“Hm hm…” Gray sported a chuckle. “I really admire you, Wendy. You may not be the strongest, but you have things that make up for it. That’s more than I can say for some people.”

“As soon as this boat stops, I’m gonna get you, Gray.” Natsu moaned.

“I’d be a lot stronger _too_ if I had a tasty fish.” Happy wept. A small shadow flew over his vision, looking up as a seagull flew close overhead. “Or a bird! YES! Heeeere birdy-bird, come to Happyyyy!”

It was a real surprise when the gull seemed to comply and flew straight down. A small, ordinary seagull that would fill Happy’s tummy for the journey. …But the bird wasn’t flying at Happy exactly, rather the tasty little nugget on Carla’s head. “WAAAAAAH!”

“NOOOOOOOOO!” Horror consumed all of their hearts. In a split second, Wendy was captured in the seagull’s beak, returning to the sky.

“Nnn! Let me go! Heeeellp!” Wendy was powerless in the tip of its beak.

“HEY! Give Wendy back!” Gray yelled furiously, charging a beam of ice.

“STOP it!” Lucy grabbed his arms. “You’re going to hit her, too!”

“Let’s get after her, Tomcat!” Carla exclaimed, sprouting wings.

“Aye!” The Exceeds took after the bird.

Wendy gave up on shaking free, merely looking hopefully as Carla and Happy chased. Both cats looked so determined, using all the strength in their wings to fly faster. Wendy especially noticed Carla’s eyes, which bore a fire that gave Carla all of the momentum she needed to chase. The flame burned from love and care for her master, and never did Carla look more desperate for anything. Seeing that care and desperation all over her face gave Wendy an unspeakable sense of gratitude. “AAAAHH!”

Carla screamed just then, and facing forward, Wendy immediately knew why. Happy, the wizards below, even the seagull widened its eyes: a gargantuan seagull the size of a pterodactyl flew dead forward with its beak open. Wendy’s seagull dodged immediately, the Exceeds evading opposite directions. “THAT BIRD IS HUGE!!” Lucy screamed.

“Could that be from the island?” Erza gasped.

“If you need better clarification, take a look at that!” Laki pointed.

A great wave appeared to be surfing from the island ahead, but soon revealed to be a titanic anchovy. “That’s the biggest fish I’ve ever SEEN!” Happy said with hopeless dreamy eyes.

“And it’s heading straight for their boat!” Carla yelled.

“BRACE FOR IMPACT!” The mages panicked as the anchovy dove beneath the surface, flipping its tail up as the ark went flying. “WHOOOOA!”

“Natsu!” Happy cried.

“Wendy!” Carla whipped around. The giant seagull was still chasing its lesser counterpart toward a distant, jungle-filled island. She could never hope to catch up in time, but seeing the shattered ark, they were hopeless as to what to do.

The mages resurfaced and helped one-another to swim, gasping when the anchovy was surfing to swallow them all. Lucy fished around for her keys and raised the only one that could help. “OPEN, Gate of the Water Bearer: AQUARIUS!” In a flash of golden light, the aqua-haired mermistress appeared.

“This had BETTER be- HUUUU!!” The incoming anchovy answered Aquarius’s question.

“Aquarius, do something!”

“I’M NOT BECOMING FISH FOOD!” With the full force of her fury, she unleashed a powerful cyclone from her urn and blew the fish away.

“WHOOOOAAAAA!” Her anger was still not through, as a great wave sent all of them toward the island.

“Humph. If my key weren’t on her belt, I would’ve said good riddance.” the mermaid said angrily before disappearing.

“Quick, let’s go after them, Happy!” Carla exclaimed.

“Aye!” The Exceeds were on a set course for the island.

**Worth Woodsea**

“I hope Wendy will be safe on that island.” Levy spoke aloud, studying the recipe book. “I feel so stupid for not reading this better.”

“Sure Wendy will be fine. She’s with Natsu!” Romeo said confidently.

“And Erza.” Mirajane replied. “If THAT isn’t safe..”

“Gray is manly, also.” Elfman smirked. “Nothin’s gonna happen to her.”

“You guys are right. Let’s just focus on the recipe.” Levy shook off her worry and narrowed her eyes on the book. “Now one of the ingredients is juice squished from 3 Bulberies. They look something like…like those!!” She pointed up a very tall, huge tree, and the big orange berries on top that looked as big and round as beachballs.

“Those will get Wendy big!” Mirajane exclaimed with delight at their size.

“They’re supposed to be really heavy, and require a great amount of strength to squeeze the juice out.” Levy read. “Elfman, I think it’s up to you.”

“It’s a test for a true man! Full-Body _BEAST SOUL!”_ Elfman grew into a massive demon, wrapping arms around the tree and climbing. He ripped three berries from the branches, the others dodging as they made a quaking land. Elfman crashed back down, shrunk to normal, and hoisted all three in his arms. “Heheh… what’s heavy.”

“All right!” Romeo fist-pumped. “What’s next?”

“Four Banyangrove Leaves from a tree of the same name; Romeo, you can look for it.” Levy ripped out and gave him the picture.

“Got it!” He ran off.

“We also need one Thrino horn. They’re down by the plain, can you handle that Mirajane?”

“My Satan Soul slays all creatures.” the white-haired winked before rushing off.

“This is gonna make one manly potion!” Elfman smirked, continuing to prove his strength by holding the heavy berries.

“Hmhmhm! Oh, Elfie!”

**Snowy Mountain**

A fierce blizzard was taking place on the mountain, not that it affected Gajeel much as he trudged up a hill. “Man, this storm is rough. What are we supposed to be finding again?”

“Part of the recipe includes 5 strands of hair from the local Snowbunnies.” Pantherlily replied, flying overhead while he read a piece of paper.

“What?! Levy sent us up here to find a damn bunny? I should’ve gone to that giant island instead of Natsu, not go hunting for some RAT.” He angrily punched a white, fluffy wall to his right. “Huh?” A furious growl was heard as the large thing turned. A bunny whose fangs were venomous, eyes blood-red, and a face huger than Gajeel glared at him. “…I stand my argument.” he said witfully.

 _“GRAAAAAAH!”_ His powerful roar flew Gajeel several yards.

“Now we’re talkin’. Iron Dragon SPEAR!!” His exciting showdown with the monster commenced.

**Magnolia Marketplace**

“Come on, Man, all I want is _one_ lousy Sour Apple.” Cana spoke to the man behind the fruit stand, her face red and intoxicated. “Is that really so much to ask?”

“Not if you have 50 Jewel, it isn’t!” he yelled for the hundredth time.

“Look, buddy, I’M not a rich girl, but if there’s one thing I love besides my booze, it’s not having a little twerp in trouble and yelling me for help, and there’s only one way to stop ‘em. (Well, besides squishing her.) Now I might not be able to pay your money, but _surely_ there’s SOMETHING.” She sat on the fruit piles and shifted her rear closer, possibly intending to smooch the man as he panicked.

“AAAAHH fine, take it!” He held up a sickly-green apple defensively. “Just get away from my business!!”

Cana took the fruit and walked away victoriously. “Thank you for the Super-Sizzle!” Lisanna beamed, walking out of a shop to join Cana. “Cana, if you needed some money, I could’ve lent. .”

“You don’t need the dough when you got the boe, Lissy.”

**Little-Big Island**

Eerie moans emitted from all of the wizards, recovering from the tidal wave and knocking water out of their ears. “Count on Aquarius to send us off with style…” Lucy whimpered. “Where are we?”

“I dunno. But take a look at those trees.” Gray indicated the jungle of colossal trees, more like gigantic thin walls with pointed ends, baring no leaves, branches, or bark at all.

“Wait… those aren’t trees, they’re grass!” Erza observed.

“What?! Did we shrink too or something?”

“I don’t think so. Look at this.” Laki approached a short, pointed rock with what appeared to be little Vulcan roaming about. “It’s a mountain… and there’re actual trees.” The grass beneath them was hard and rugged; they were tiny trees. “This is Little-Big Island…”

“Then that means the Super Shrooms are on here, right?” Natsu fist-palmed.

“Yes, but we need to find Wendy!” Lucy stated worriedly. “She could be in the seagull’s stomach for all we know!”

“Then our first priority is to find her!” declared Erza. “Split up, search every inch of this place for a giant nest or whatever. There’s always the possibility she fell someplace, so watch your step. Let’s MOVE!” With looks of determination, the Fairies set off in separate groups of two.

**Above the island**

“Aaaah! Let me go!” Wendy was still determined to shake away, for as her captor was swiftly evading the larger bird’s beak, the smaller seagull wouldn’t let his food slip. “You heard me, nnn! Let go!” Wendy knew that her friends were still out there, worrying for her safety, probably wondering if she was eaten or not. After all they’re sacrificing for her, she wouldn’t become this bird’s meal. She took a great, deep breath, and although her lungs were tiny, the molecules would still go inside. _“Sky Dragon ROOOOAAAAR!”_

The tornado that burst from her mouth was too much for the gull to hold on to, so he released his dinner. Wendy took the great, endless fall to the island below, and with all the wind resistance against her size, she was kept in great suspense whether she’d live or die. She finally fell beyond the petals of incredibly huge flowers, zipping by many leaves and grass blades before she came to a sudden halt. Her left foot had latched onto the side of a giant, white, sticky substance, hanging upside-down. Trying to glance up, blood rushing to her brain, she saw the web’s owner.

A gigantic spider, at least 20 stories high, shook the web as it skittered across with legs like moving buildings. She wondered if the spider would notice such a small captive, but wouldn’t wait to find out. Grabbing her leg and tugging with all her strength, she waved her arms and blew a Sky Dragon Wing Attack, cutting herself free. Continuing her endless fall, the ground was seconds away. She faced directly down, inhaled the wind pushing against her, and blew a powerful gust that slowed her descent upon contact with the ground, then was able to drop and land softly.

She was filled with a new drive of courage and determination. Having escaped certain death with her own strength, she wouldn’t give up now. Even though she was in the middle of the island, surrounded by endless shrubs and beasts of incredible size, she would get back to her friends. Her courage was soon to be tested again when a gang of hungry Vulcan, tall as regular Vulcan to her size, surrounded her. _“Well, lookee here, boys. Humans really do exist in our world. And she’s, sniff sniff… a_ Dragon _Slayer.”_

“You guys don’t scare me! Sky Dragon Wing Attack!” She blew a large amount of Vulcan away and ran from the others through the jungle. She threw other gusts to keep them back, but couldn’t waste much time with them, because in a few hours, all her friends’ efforts will be for naught. Before they wasted the remainder of their lives searching for a constant decreasing speck, she would get to them first.

**Across the island**

_“Ice-Make NET!”_ Gray created a massive net of glittering strings, catching a fleet of giant butterflies inside.

 _“Fire Dragon ROOOOAR!”_ Natsu blew down every giant flower in his wake and stormed through the jungle.

“Wait up, Natsu!” Gray hurried to catch up to him. “Erza said Wendy mighta fallen, and we can’t lose each other, too!”

“I know Wendy’s scent and I’m not picking it up, yet.”

“Of COURSE you’re not, she’s MICRO, how can you be sure you-” Natsu came to a sudden halt, forcing Gray to stop abruptly before they ran off a cliff to a river below.

They turned at the sound of heavy flapping, the butterflies hot on their tail. “Come on, Gray!” Natsu grabbed his friend’s arm before jumping to a giant hanging samara leaf.

“Natsu, wait!” The moment they made the first tug upon dangling, the leaf snapped off and whirled like a helicopter on the way down. “WHOOOOOAAAA!”

They both bounced on a larger leaf above the river, which also snapped and began carrying them down like a boat. _“Ooooohh… Grrraaaayyy.”_ Natsu’s natural weakness kicked in.

“Urrrrgh, you’re hopeless!”

The leaf floated into a huge, open pond where giant tadpoles swam about in the water, munching tiny alligators, where even larger frogs sat perched on lilipads. _“Is Wendy here, Gray, ‘cause I can’t see.”_

“No, but you’ll end up like a fly on a log if you don’t get up!” The frogs started lashing their tongues at the little wanderers, Gray shooting ice beams to freeze them in their track, afterwards turning the whole pond solid. “Let’s go!” He pulled Natsu to his feet, undizzied as they rushed across the stable ice.

**Lucy and Laki**

“OPEN, Gate of the Clock, Horologium!” Lucy summoned the grandfather clock—and took cover inside his glass.

“Wood-Make LIMBS!” Laki caused a forest of giant wood hands and feet to fly the stampede of giant ants away. “GET OUT here and help me!!”

“‘I’m not ending up a snack on the picnic blanket.’ Lucy says frantically.”

Laki raced up what seemed like an anthill, Horologium toddling after. They made it at the top, viewing a gaping hole before them where dozens of ants were carrying giant fruits down. They now understood what those fruit pieces looked like from Wendy’s size. “Call me crazy, Lucy, but I’m getting an interest in miniatures. Making Wendy’s dollhouse was so fun; I should bake my own Shrink Potion, then I can shrink all my enemies down and torture ‘em like little insects!” She spoke devilishly.

“‘That sounds wonderful,’ Lucy says with a hint of fear in her voice, ‘but we really must be looking for Wendy, not fantasizing our power over little people.’”

“Okay, okay. Hmm… my brain just struck lightning!”

Within seconds, “GIDDY-UP, anty, giddy-up!” She was riding an ant like a horsy, slapping it, while Horologium bounced on its rear, Lucy dizzy.

“‘This is worse than the ponies at my old mansion.’ Lucy speaks very groggily- oh dear!” The ant moved at great speed through the jungle, and they hoped to find Wendy soon.

**Erza and Juvia**

“This part of the island reeks of something.” Erza said as both girls raced through an odorous region with giant white globs. “This must be the birds’ region; I can only hope Wendy’s-”

“WATCH OUT!” Juvia blasted a stream of water to wash away a team of giant field mice charging at them. “I’ve got an idea!” She turned her arms into water tentacles, picked a mouse up, and waved it around the air. The mouse panicked when a pterodactyl-size jay was coming down, claiming the mouse in its talons. “Grab on!” Both girls grabbed the mouse’s legs, going high above the grass blades to a grouping of nests upon giant flowers.

“Excellent work, Juvia. We’ll search for the seagull’s nest from up here. Keep your eyes open.”

Juvia’s mind was racing with thoughts. _Oh, I do hope Wendy is okay. Darling Gray will be mortified should anything happen to our dear friend. If only it had been ME to drink the potion! I would have spared the child the fate, and best of all Gray would…_

_“I will protect you always, Juvia.” Gray spoke gorgeously, hugging the mini Juvia to his bare chest. “No matter what size, you will always be my dream…”_

_Juvia remained silent and basked in his heavenly feel. Gray’s chest was so cold, but so… warm…_

“Juvia, LOOK!” Scarlet pointed down, seeing a giant seagull on its nest below. It appeared to be holding a mini one in its beak, threatening to feed to its young. “JUMP!” Both mages dropped as Scarlet _“ReeeeQUIP!”_ slicing the monster’s beak and freeing the gull. Juvia landed, stretched her water tentacles, and pulled the smaller bird down to her.

“Wendy, are you in there?!” Juvia forcibly tugged its beak open, peering inside. “Please answer!”

“That won’t do. Give me that.” Erza took the seagull, held it upside-down, and furiously shook. “Come out of there, Wendy, PLEASE COME OUT!” The seagull desperately gasped for breath. “Please, you have to be in here! Wendy!” But nothing came out but saliva. Erza fell to her knees as tears leaked.

“Erza…” Juvia put an arm on her friend’s shoulder. She was upset too, deep down; even if she wanted to please Gray, Juvia really was concerned for Wendy as a friend, and she deeply wanted to find her. “You think she… fell someplace after all?”

“I REFUSE to believe that she’s gone! I’ll search every speck of this island until we FIND her! . . .” Her eyes narrowed on the baby seagulls. “Starting with YOUR STOMACHS!!”

 _“Eeeeeek!”_ The baby gulls saw death in Scarlet’s image.

**Giant leaves**

“Wendyyyyy? HEY, WENDY!” Happy screamed, he and Carla exploring among giant leaves. “If you can hear my voice, yell as LOUD as you CAAAAN. We’re CATS, we have extra-sensitive HEARING. Siiiigh.” He rubbed his sore throat. “Then again, her ears might be so tiny, our soundwaves can’t enter. …” He looked at Carla, whose head was down in sadness. “Or maybe not; don’t be sad, Carla, I’m sure we’ll find her.”

“I really hope so.” The Exceeds continued walking, searching every floor and listening intently for some tiny cries. _Oh, Child… why couldn’t it have been me? I would gladly have gone in your place. Why didn’t you let me drink the potion. Wendy… Please… somebody find her. Let her be safe._ But Carla’s concern only grew. She wished with all her heart, her very love would bring them together again.

**Jungle floor**

Wendy was still running at ceaseless speed, fighting all sorts of Thrinos, King Lions, any creature that would normally be gigantic, but now scaled to fit her tiny size. Wendy regretted not bringing her sandals to the beach, only her newly-washed emerald dress, but her bare feet seemed to catch a greater deal of wind as she ran, aiding the Sky Dragon. After turning what felt like an endless amount of trees, she came to a halt before a tremendous, rugged red wall that went up for miles. “Maybe I can see my friends from up here.” Wendy thought aloud, beginning to climb the solid surface as fast as she could. “I wonder what this is, though. Huff, it sure is… huge… some kind of… weird smell… I hope I can… get somewhere…”

Though the more she climbed, the more that smell began to get to her, and it seemed her tiny nostrils prevented it from infiltrating so much. She made it to the top of the wall, running onto the red, rugged plain that followed, and across the distance, dozens and dozens of such rugged plains lay before her, separated by chasms. “Wait a minute. . .” Great fear consumed Wendy’s heart. The smell of this structure, the color, its bumpy appearance… she understood. “Th-THESE are… _DRIED PLUUUUUUUUUUUMS!”_

Indeed, these were dried plums that were the size of normal-size boulders. Wendy had never been more afraid, never felt more helpless in her current stature. The idea she just climbed a fruit so unbelievably sour and unswallowable, she had no faith of getting out of here alive. “NATSU! LUCY! CARLAAAAA! SOMEBODY PLEASE _HELP MEEEEEEEE!”_

But nobody was around, and Wendy’s heart raced in panic. Knowing she wouldn’t last long here, not long before the immeasurable size of the “edibles” would make Wendy feel the taste without eating, she hurdled toward the edge she just came from with even greater speed. That speed increased as Wendy ran down the side with no sign of stopping, but she wouldn’t blow a gust of wind at the ground to slow herself in fear of inhaling the scent. “WAAAAAAHHH—uuh, uhh, UHH!” She fell off the side and through branches of trees before hitting the ground. From there, she ran as far as she could possibly get from the plums, before stopping to catch her breath.

“Huff… there’s gotta be something I can do. In a few hours, I’ll shrink. Everything we’ve risked will be for nothing. Oh, I should’ve stayed at the dorm, not make everyone waste all this time for me!” She fell to her knees and felt the urge to cry. “…No… I need to calm down and think.” She pressed her fingers to her forehead. “Panicking won’t help. But I’ll never get anywhere if I just run around aimlessly. I need to think of a way to find everyone, let them know I’m okay. Ugh…” She used every ounce of brainpower she could muster. “But what can I do? I’m just too small to get everyone’s attention this way. I need help. Please, just one friend, any one of my friends! I need somebody to help me!”

“It’s nice to see you here, Wendy!” Wendy gasped, looking up to find the soles of massive feet hanging above her. Their owner, sitting on the mountain that was really big as a short rock, a beautiful young girl with a mountain-like pink dress, a sea of golden hair, and vibrant dark-green eyes stared at her with a smile that rivaled the sun. “You look a bit different than before. I swear you were taller than my toesies when I saw you!”

Wendy recognized this girl, from seven years ago, though it felt like months. Immeasurable hope filled Wendy’s heart, plastered clear on her face. “First Master of Fairy Tail!!” She was on her knees and bowing without realizing it. “It’s wonderful to meet you! Will you please help me, please I’ll NEVER stop being grateful if you make me normal size!”

“But Wendy, you look ever-so adorable this way! What I wouldn’t give to be your size, more food than I can eat, living in a peaceful little dollhouse…” Master Mavis appeared to be lost in daydreams.

“There’s nothing FUN about this!!” Wendy flushed. “Master, please!”

“I’d love to, Wendy, but I just don’t have the magic anymore.” She told her with an assuring smile. “However, I felt incredible amounts of love coming from the Fairy Tail members, and they all seemed focused on you. Curious island to come to; there are so many cute things here! I was exploring here a bit before I came to find you. I always wondered what bugs looked like up close, and all the little animals are so cute!”

“W-What about giant mushrooms? See anything like those?”

“How couldn’t I see them!” Mavis beamed. “They’re so big, I didn’t know what to think!”

“Will you carry me to them?! Please?”

“I would, but,” she swung her big toe through Wendy, startling her when it phased through, “I’m an astral projection! I can’t hold you no matter how much I want to. You’ll just have to follow me,” she got to her feet, “but don’t fall behind!” The spirit child started walking through the jungle of giant grass, stepping over tiny trees that her ghostly feet didn’t crush. ‘Course for Wendy, it was like running through an ordinary forest, running faster to keep after Master Mavis, trying to see her gold, glittering hair through the leaves. As the sun made her tremendous curtain of hair sparkle, it served as Wendy’s guiding light.

After dodging around more trees, Wendy slowed to a halt before Mavis’s feet, the former master staring down at her. “We’re here! Did you have trouble keeping up?”

“No. But… where is the mushroom?”

“Right here.” Mavis threw her head back to allow Wendy to see. At first, she had no idea how the sky became so indigo blue… but then her mouth fell open. It was a mushroom that extended to a height Wendy could never hope to climb. If not for her current size, she would actually believe it went beyond the atmosphere. No doubt a mushroom like that could make one heck of a Growth Potion.

“Wow… it’s… enormous. If only I could call my friends here. How can I?”

“I don’t know.” Mavis frowned regretfully. “At times like this, I would love for someone to help me. Someone I can rely on.”

Wendy got the hint in her voice. She got to her knees, folded her hands, and spoke most humbly, “Master Mavis, will you please bring all of my friends here?”

Mavis smiled. “I’d be honored to.” So the master became a great ball of light and shot to the heavens.

A great golden light shone across the island, as though the sun had come down to Earth. The Exceeds through the leaves, Natsu and Gray from the swamps, Lucy and Laki upon their ant-steed, and at the last minute, the baby birds were saved from Erza’s wrath. The Fairy Tail wizards saw it clear as day, and with the utmost curiosity, they bolted that direction.

Wendy uncovered her eyes; the First Master truly had the appearance of an angel from Heaven. The ground shook from all directions, seeing Erza and Juvia come through the shrubs, and Happy and Carla glide down from above. “Huu! Wendy!” The latter’s eyes went wide with delight.

“Carla! Everyone!” Wendy was picked up by her loyal cat, who hugged her to her chest.

“Child! I thought I lost you. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you’d…” Tears dripped down her fur.

“Didn’t I tell you, Carla? I’m a big girl who can handle my own!” She spoke with pride.

“It seems you can, Child…”

Erza and Juvia exchanged a smile at their warmhearted moment. The shrubs rustled as Lucy and Laki came. “Wendy! Thank goodness.” Lucy beamed.

“Gray, I told you it was this way!” Natsu was heard arguing through the trees.

“No it’s not, I’m sure it was—”

“OHH!!!” Inevitably, both boys came out from opposite entrances and collided heads. The others stared in disbelief.

“Guys! I’m so glad you’re okay!” Wendy exclaimed.

“We’re the ones who were worried, Wendy.” replied Lucy. “To think what could’ve happened.”

“I’ll never worry you guys again, I promise! Oh! And I found the giant mushrooms!”

“Where are they?” asked Natsu.

“Right here!” They were the next to be surprised at the height of the skyscraper mushroom.

“Whoa. What Droy wouldn’t give to have _this_.” Laki commented.

“This should get Wendy nice and beefy.” Natsu followed.

“We need the mushroom caps, right?” asked Lucy. “How are we ever gonna-”

 _“REQUIP!!!”_ Erza donned the garb of a mighty knight, and with dozens of swords in her control, layer after layer of the great mushroom was sliced. As the cap came down, threatening to crush them, Erza shattered it into pieces.

“WHOA! She’s the most badass swordsman on the Seven Seas!” Gray gaped.

**Somewhere on the seas**

A lazy, moss-haired gentleman was dozing on his pirate ship. “Mmmmnn… nnn, hehn?”

**Little-Big**

“I know we’re required 5 inches, but a little extra shouldn’t hurt.” The swordswoman said proudly, several chunks of mushroom in her bag.

“All RIGHT!” Natsu cheered. “Let’s go meet the others and start cookin’!”

“This is the happiest day of my life!” Wendy wept. “THANK you! I couldn’t be more—” She froze, for a sinking feeling just appeared in her lower intestine.

“What’s the matter, Child?” Carla asked.

Lucy gasped, “It’s not already happening, is it?!”

Wendy flushed, shaking and welling with tears. “I…I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!!”

The worry in their hearts was gone like that. Wendy’s giant apple crumb caught up to her. “Give her some privacy, now.” Carla gently carried her master behind a giant grass, setting her down and turning. Everyone waited patiently for several minutes. “I’m doooooone.”

Carla grabbed Wendy as they all dashed off to the shore. “First order of business will be getting you wiped.” the former stated, Wendy blushed.

It took longer than they’d hoped to make it to the dampened, wrecked shore where they first crashed, and were out of breath by the time they made it. “Great…” Laki panted, “now I need to make another boat, but I exhausted too much magic fighting through here.”

“Laki, let me help!” Wendy exclaimed. “I’ll use my Healing Magic to give you energy!”

“Child, you’re so small.” Carla said concerned. “Please don’t-”

“Actually,” Erza spoke, “I believe Master Makarov said once that any support magic used directly on the Guild Mark—by a fellow Fairy—would lead to stronger results. Something Master Mavis first invented herself.”

“Really??” Wendy beamed; the First Master was extremely helpful even as a spirit.

“Well then… let’s give it a shot.” Laki complied, picking Wendy up. “Just a little bit should do.”

Laki lowered her cape off her left shoulder and bent down so Wendy could stand on the Guild Mark on her back. Focusing tremendous energy, Wendy encased the mark in a green aura, pouring everything she had into restoring Laki’s power. There was a kind of magic energy reacting from the mark, and Wendy felt her power increase because of it. “That’s enough, Wendy.” Laki said, lightly taking the wizard off and giving her to Carla. “I can handle the rest. _Wood-Make ARK!”_ With a burst of power, a scaled Noah’s Ark came into existence.

“What about Juvia?” Wendy asked. “Do you need an upgrade?”

“My love for Gray gives me all of the power I need!!!” Juvia spoke with fierce determination and shining eyes. Gray slumped in embarrassment.

**On the sea**

The sail back to Fiore was 10 minutes in progress, the Fairies keeping sharp eyes out for any ravenous seagulls or giant fish, except Natsu, who was remarkably ill as always. Wendy couldn’t have been in brighter spirits; she was going to be normal size, her friends would all make it back with all of the potion ingredients, and the nightmare would be over. “I’m so excited!” she expressed aloud, seated on the table with Carla beside. “I thought this day would NEVER end! I never appreciated my old puny size more!”

“You’ve been through a lot these past 24 hours.” Erza smiled, sitting at the table with her armored elbows rested on it. “But why did you try to make a potion to begin with?”

“I just wanted to make myself stronger. Not only would a Growth Potion make me unstoppable, people would stop treating me like a little kid. All I wanted was to be admired in the same light as the rest of you.” She smiled while explaining this, as though it was only a silly story she was recounting.

“Wendy, you _are_ an admirable wizard, and big or small, your loyalty and courage is inspiring. You’re the prime example that greatness can come in any package. But you shouldn’t have felt shame in your age and height, that’s why you’re so respectable.”

“Do you really feel that way about me, Scarlet?”

“Of course I do, that’s why I allowed you to come along. And you’ve proven yourself, who knows how long we would’ve spent on that island otherwise. You’re a great wizard, Wendy, and I’m more than delighted you joined our guild. I know you will continue to grow stronger, and this adventure is only a small step.”

“Hahahaha! You said ‘small’!” Wendy pointed humorously.

“What?” Scarlet blushed at the thought she made a pun. “Oh… well, I suppose I did.”

“You’re funny, Scarlet!”

“Hmhm…” Scarlet couldn’t express how much she adored that tiny voice and spirit. “We would be nowhere without you, Wendy.”

“Heheh… well, I guess while we’re waiting, I should start training. Erza, can you lay your hand beside me?”

“Of course, Wendy.” Erza took off her right armored glove and lay the hand down.

“HAAAAAIIII-YAH!” With unmatched courage, the heart of a thousand warriors, Wendy rushed at the hand, and while Erza expected her to climb on, all Wendy did was punch and punch and punch. The thick flesh of Erza’s hand served as the perfect punching bag, her fists flying so fast, neither one of them could see. For minutes and minutes without end, it seemed Wendy expected to bruise the flesh, though she never made progress during so, Wendy’s fortitude was relentless. In time, she started treating it like a regular opponent, rushing to different sides without warning, flipping and swinging kicks, though her shoeless feet would have as much luck as her fists.

It became everyone’s pastime, watching the show that filled all of their spirits (except groggy Natsu). It made them all realize how far Wendy had come on this journey. She learned to be more open with her friends, let her emotions be known, so she would at long last feel part of them. Even though she was so small, completely at their mercy, helpless, she showed loyalty and devotion, her desire to help them and help herself topped any weakness she might have.

And yet, she was so bashful, so kindhearted and polite, tripping on her own feet and apologizing. If such a thing could exist, they’d say her soul was pure. She was the breath of their guild, and they loved every bit about her, what made her personality whole and what made her their friend. They couldn’t wait until she was bigger, to hear her beautiful energetic voice, hear her joyous laugh, hug her as she cried, the redness of her embarrassed face, see her tumble forward as she tripped, be basked in her sea of gracious “thanks”, and see what incredible strength her young body could bring. They never appreciated Wendy more for what she was, they couldn’t wait until she was back at their level. She grew a lot these past 24 hours, and she would grow further. And they, as a guild fighting to be the best, would grow with her.


	4. Wendy’s Growth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the ingredients gathered, the guildmates begin work on the Growth Potion! But while they wait, Carla decides to take Wendy out for a little flight. This carefree moment ends shortly when the witch, Violeta, kidnaps small, helpless Wendy....

**Time to finally conclude this filler!**

****

**_

Chapter 4: Wendy’s Growth

_**

****

**Fairy Tail**

“STEP ONE, cauldron of water, 8 inches!” Levy declared with strict authority, spectacled eyes locked tight on the book.

“Got it!” Juvia plopped the cauldron on the table and splashed her magic water inside.

“Step Two, 3 Bulberies SQUISHED fresh!”

“MANLY!” Elfman crushed the round fruits in his large hands and let the juice pour in.

“Step Three, 4 Banyangrove Leaves.”

“Coming up.” Romeo stuffed them inside.

“5 strands of Snowbunny hair?”

“You owe me one.” Gajeel said, his eye blackened as he dropped the hair inside.

“Thrino’s horn?” (“Check.” said Mirajane.) “Two teaspoons of Super-Sizzle?” (“Yup.” said Lisanna.) “Sour Apple?” (“Right here.” confirmed Cana.) “I hope you’re stirring.” (“I am, I am.” Happy panted hurriedly.)

Carla sat on a stool by the wall, Wendy on her head. The tiny mage never saw the Fairy Tail wizards move so quickly, their thundering rapid stomps ringing in her ears and a very noticeable wind caused by their speed. “Making a potion sure is hard work.” Wendy noticed. “All of you doing it together makes it look so easy.”

“Everything’s easier when you ask friends to help you, Child.” Her cat told her informatively. “We might not have agreed to making this potion originally, but if you’d insisted, you’ll be amazed what the power of many can do.”

“I don’t want to rely on them TOO much. I’ll have to start looking after myself eventually. But until that time comes, I’m extremely thankful for all their help!”

“Now throw IN the mushrooms!”

“Gladly!” Erza dropped the 5-inch mushroom piece they worked so hard to get.

“COME ON, kitties, STIR that stew!” Levy ordered with passion.

Happy and Pantherlily worked tirelessly together to stir the spoon, not stopping for 5 minutes though their arms felt like falling. “In retrospect, I could have changed form before doing this.” The latter noticed.

“Aye, Sir.” Happy was too tired to get aggravated about that.

“Now HEAT IT UP!” screamed Levy.

“Way ahead of you!” Natsu ignited the base of the cauldron with orange flames, the potion bubbling.

“ALL RIIIGHT!” Levy smirked and posed proudly, her left arm raised skyward with the index pointed. “Chef Levy is proud to announce, the near-completion of Biggum Bigacious! Aka, the Growth Potion!”

 _“Chef? We did all the work.”_ the boys moaned.

“Just gotta wait it for 30 minutes, let it cool for 20, then Wendy will be big and bodacious again! (Well, sort of. ;)).”

“Can I just say,” Wendy began, standing atop Carla’s head, “that I am EXTREMELY grateful for all of your hard work!”

“That’s my girl!” Mirajane tapped her head with her pinky. “Kind and courteous, that’s the young ladies’ way.”

“But it looks like we have 50 minutes to kill until then. What should we do?” Lucy asked.

“I say we hit the town for some grub.” Natsu proclaimed. “We’re giving Wendy a FEAST when she’s bigger!”

“Aye!” agreed Happy.

“Lucy, want to go clothes shopping?” Erza asked. “We can get Wendy some new outfits.”

“Sure!”

“Gray my darling, let’s go out on a pre-celebratory date!” Juvia exclaimed lovingly, following Gray as he walked outside casually.

“Come on, Juvia…” he mumbled quietly.

Many of the guildmates left for certain errands. Mirajane returned behind the bar to clean glass, giving Cana her “deserved prize”, and Romeo approached Wendy on the table. “Bet you’re glad to be almost done with this, huh?”

“Heheheheheheheh.” Wendy turned red again, wiggling. “I can’t be Itsy Wendy forever, can I Romeo-kun?”

“You were still a lot cooler than Natsu when he got shrunk. I found a job the two of us could take tomorrow; wanna come with?”

“S-Sure! I’d love to see your abs in action—I mean, see your flame grow—I MEAN, fan-my-wind-with-your-flames-as-soon-as-I-grow-bigger!… in physical size.”

“Heh heh heh heh! Well, I should go, too. Gotta make sure my dad isn’t in the bathhouse again… siiigh.” With a gloomy face that spoke with shame for his father, Romeo left.

“Now Child, I don’t care what you say, _I’m_ drinking the potion first this time as a test.” Carla told her firmly.

“But Carla, then you’ll be giant.”

“Better to be 10 feet tall than _you_ poisoned. I will take that risk for you, Child.”

“If you want to… heh heh. You’ve been helping me so much, Carla, I feel indebted to you. I feel like just saying ‘Thanks’ all the time won’t cut it.”

“Everything is my pleasure, Child. I want you to grow into a confident young wizard as well; and you can’t do that if you stay small. I must say, I can’t wait until you’re holding me in your arms again.”

“Ha ha ha ha!” Wendy glanced away and shifted a foot along the floor. “I know, it feels so weird. I can’t even remember how small you used to be. If you wanted to, you could… step on me anytime you wanted.”

“Hmmm… never thought about it like that.” Carla smirked slightly, looking at her paws compared to Wendy’s size. “After carrying and giving you a bath, I never realized how much power I have over you. I should be making the best of these 50 minutes.”

“AAAAaaaahhh what’ll I do, what’ll I do!” Wendy grabbed her face and began wiggling in a silly fashion. “I’m so small, there’s no way I can defend myself if you attack me!”

“Indeed you can’t.” With a dark face and devilish eyes, Carla raised her foot over Wendy. “Maybe I don’t want to go back to being the pet. The idea that you are so helplessly small is invigorating.”

“No Carla, please don’t step on me, pleasepleaseplease!” Wendy was on her knees and pleading in such an adorable fashion. “I’ll do anything you say, anything- UUEEH!” Carla’s foot came down, Wendy underneath. She raised her foot and found Wendy stuck, dizzy, since her paws were much too soft for any fatal damage. “Eeeeeehhh…”

“Please, betraying you after all this is very unladylike.” Carla picked Wendy up, brushing her dress off. “I would not let such great powers go to waste.”

“Heh heh ha! Hey, but if I still have time, we should do something fun. Let’s go flying, Carla! The wind is much nicer when you’re small; and you can fly faster now that I’m not so heavy.”

“Aren’t you scared of being eaten by birds?”

“Not in the least!” she spoke bravely.

“Then I shall.” She set Wendy on her head, sprouted her wings, and soared out of the guild entrance.

Master Mavis sat on the windmill tower, smiling as Carla took flight to the clouds above, Wendy’s cheerful squeaky cries ringing in her ears. “Hm hm hm! Just like the time Zeira created a Shrink Potion. Remember that, Zeiry? I looked around forever and you were stuck between my toes the whole time!”

**The sky**

Violeta was soaring over the clouds on a broomstick, squinting her eyes from the wind in her face. She could see the backside of what was currently Fairy Tail in the distance. “Nothing hard… just fly over, look for the Dragon Slayer… figure out a way to catch her. Cassie and Maya’ll come and distract the other wizards, too. Sigh… I hope.”

Wendy stood high on Carla’s head, arms outstretched like wings while her hair flailed behind her. Her eyes were closed and she was smiling wide, for this moment, all she knew was freedom. Although Carla was flying, a gentle breeze under her wings, a child’s imagination was bigger when you were smaller. “Flying is so much better this way!” Wendy proclaimed. “There’s a lot less danger of being dropped! N-Not that I’d think you’d ever drop me, Carla.”

“I’m finding a better sensation in flying too, Child. It’s hard to enjoy when carrying such a large weight all the time, I must be honest.”

“Heh heh heh!” Wendy flushed. “I wonder if I could learn Size Magic and shrink down all the time. Carrying me would be so much easier!”

“No.” Carla said with an assuring smile. “I only want to see you in your full natural size, Child. As long as you can fight to full strength, I’ll sacrifice this leisure.”

“Stop making me feel guilty, Carla! I’ll never be able to make all this up to you.”

“You’re already making it up to me: being alive and healthy, my friend Wendy Marvell.”

“Huh.” Wendy scoffed jokingly and said under her breath. _“Friend, you act like a mother if anything.”_

‘Course, she was between Carla’s cat ears. For a while, Carla didn’t speak. Only the breeze roared in Wendy’s ears. The mage frowned, feeling tension from this quiet. Wendy began to think her words offended. “Carla?”

“Whuh-?” Carla was startled. “Oh… sorry Child, I spaced out.”

“I didn’t mean to offend-”

“Nono, you didn’t, I’m just… feeling a little lightheaded.” In fact, a tear formed in Carla’s right eye, but since Wendy couldn’t see from her view, she was trying to avoid rubbing and let it drop on its own. The comment touched her more than she wanted to admit, so she fought to avoid making more tears.

Wendy took Carla’s word and passed that transaction off, trusting that it wasn’t hurtful. Wendy stood and returned to pretend-flying, ‘til- “Huh?” she spotted a faint shadow in the cloud ahead.

Violeta flew through a cloud, the fluffy wetness in her face as she shook it off. “WAAH!” The witch rammed Carla headfirst and both ended up taking the fall.

They crashed and fell through the branches of separate trees, landing bumpily. “Ow…” Carla rubbed her rear and stood up. She gasped, frantically feeling her head and searching other parts of her body. “Wendy! Child!” She crawled around, speaking quietly and worriedly. “Where are you?!”

Behind some bushes, Violet scratched her head as she sat up. “Huh?” There appeared to be a bug sitting on her nasal bridge, but she narrowed her eyes together and saw its odd shape. Very lightly, she took the bug in her fingers and held before her huge red eyes. “Who are you?”

“Hey, let me go! Carla, heeeelp!” Wendy’s arms were binded by Violet’s gentle grip. She inhaled a gust of air, _“Sky Dragon ROOOAAAR!”_

A teeny cyclone hit Violet’s nose, making it tickle. She scratched it lightly. “Hold on… you’re the Sky Dragon Slayer. From the forest.”

“Put me down, LET GO!”

Violet’s red eyes beamed. “I don’t believe it! I caught her! I better take her back while I have the chance.”

“NOOO! LET ME-” Violet encased Wendy in both hands and began running.

Her shuffling through the bushes caught Carla’s attention, the Exceed whipping around. “Hu! Wendy!!”

It was hard for Violet to run in such a rugged area with her hands folded this way, but as long as she got the Dragon Slayer back in one piece. “Please! I need to get back so I can drink that potion!” she yelled as loud as she could through the impenetrable flesh of Vi’s hands.

“Just gotta take her back!” Violet spoke to herself, panting with an excited look. “Take her back, put ‘er in a jar. My sisters will be so proud, I didn’t have to do a thing, the Dragon Slayer’s right-”

“I’M BEGGING YOU, PLEASE TAKE ME BACK!”

Violeta stopped on the spot; that yell seemed much louder. She opened her hands to find Wendy bowed, her hands folded tight. “Please… my friends worked so hard to make that potion. I’ll do anything you ask afterward, just please let me drink it.”

Violet put aside her feelings of success. The Sky Dragon Slayer, whom Violet believed to be very powerful, and was afraid to face, looked so helpless, like Violet had complete control over her at this moment. “Why… are you begging?”

Wendy looked up; the tiny tears streaming down her fierce, angry face were very clear to Violet’s eyes. “I would NEVER beg my enemies for anything, I would NEVER be afraid to fight with all my strength. But I’m just too small, I admit it, I can’t waste my strength trying to fight you. My friends wasted so much time and effort trying to create that potion, so I’ll risk all of my pride if it means I’ll be able to drink it!”

“But why are you so tiny?”

“Because I made a mistake, okay?! I made a stupid mistake that all of my friends had to work together to fix. I feel bad for making them do so much for me, but I don’t want all of their efforts to go to waste. Please, I promise to do whatever it is you wanted me for, just let me drink that potion, pretty please.”

There was much passion in her tiny voice, and such a loud volume, Wendy’s lungs were hurting. Violet was confused about so many things. “Drinking that potion means that much to you? And your friends?”

“YES, because if I don’t drink it, I’ll shrink into nothing, and all my friends will be upset.”

“…And if I let you drink it, you promise to use your Sky Dragon power on our necklace?”

“Yes, I’ll do whatever!” Wendy bowed forcefully. “Just let me drink it!”

“…” This was all Violet wanted: to have the upper hand over her enemy, to possess an advantage that would make her teammates admire her. The Sky Dragon was a key component in their plan, and Violet had her, helpless and pleading. …It was a terrible feeling. “What’s your name?”

“Wendy.”

“My name’s Violet. I’m really sorry, Wendy.” Violet said with a look of sympathy. “I would really give you that potion, no questions… but if I don’t capture the Sky Dragon for my sisters, they… C-Cassie will hurt me!” Enormous tears started to form in her great red eyes.

“W-Whaddyou mean she’ll hurt you?” Wendy asked.

“I just joined their group a few days ago, and I, I’m terrible at what I do. I’m doing my best to master Fire Magic so I can be a part of them, but no matter how hard I work, I just can’t get better, and I… Big Sister hurts me!” Her head sunk, unable to repress the tears.

“Violet, that’s terrible. I… Even I don’t have it that bad. I’m a bad wizard, too; I always feel behind all my friends. But my friends are really supportive and encouraging, so… I-I’m sorry if I’m offending you, I’m just saying…”

Violet looked up, her tears calmed. “You’re a bad wizard? I thought Dragon Slayers were… powerful.”

“Well…” Wendy smiled and blushed, “apparently I am pretty powerful. I just… never saw myself that way. Now I’m all small and powerless… being this way, I never appreciated myself more for what I was. Even if I wasn’t that strong, looking back, I…I should’ve heard things from my friends’ point of view, instead of jumping conclusions. …” She spoke more seriously, “Violet, I’m sorry for how your sisters treat you, and I would really like to help. Just let me drink the Growth Potion, and I will.”

“…Wendy, I’m sorry about all of this. I promised my sisters I would capture you for them, but I…I feel like we’re alike. I want to be accepted by my sisters the same way you do with your friends. You’re really lucky to have friends that care about you. I wouldn’t feel right if I took you from them, for myself. …I’ll let you have the potion, and I won’t ask you for anything.”

“Are…Are you sure?”

“I owe you for saving me back in the forest, so I don’t deserve to ask you another favor. I’ll take my sister’s punishment, it’s better than taking you from people that love you.”

“Maybe I _can_ promise you something.” Wendy spoke with an inviting hand raised. “If you help me, I promise to be your friend.”

“My friend? I thought we were enemies; you said so.”

“Enemies are people that hate each other, or feel no connection towards. I feel as though we connected, and after getting to know you, I don’t hate you, and I’d like to have you as a friend. When you’re as small as I am, a friend is a really good thing to have. I can’t force you to choose like this, so I can only ask.”

“…Then… I would like to be your friend.” Violet smiled and gently shook Wendy’s hand with her thumb and index.

“Thank you, Vi.” Wendy bowed. “I’ll never forget your kindness.”

“THERE YOU ARE!” Violet turned. Nothing could describe the anger and madness in Carla’s eyes. “Give her back to me RIGHT NOW!” The kitten marched forward, ready to murder Vi if she didn’t comply.

“Carla, wait!” She stopped on Wendy’s request, but was still ready to kill. “This is my new friend, Violet! Violet, this is Carla, my best friend ever!”

“Hi, Carla.” Violet spoke shyly. “I’m sorry for taking her. You can have Wendy back.” She lowered her hands.

Carla’s madness was replaced with confusion. She took Wendy back. “Th…Thank you, Violet.”

“Carla, what else do we say when someone apologizes?” Wendy asked with a bright smile.

“I…I forgive you.”

They jumped at the sound of an explosion, whipping around to the guild’s direction. “Oh no!” Violet gasped. “My sisters!”

They rushed back and entered the back entrance, finding huge soot craters and Cana, Mirajane, Droy, and Jet on the floor, sizzling with sparks. “Hmm… guild’s a lot emptier than I was hoping it’d be.” Cassandra said. “Doubt Violet could’ve distracted ‘em so easy. Little twerp’s a coward.”

“What’s that?” Maya asked, pointing at the steaming cauldron on the table. Carla, Vi, and Wendy still hid in the entrance, watching with worry.

Cassandra examined and sniffed the cauldron. “Nothing I recognize. Maybe these wizards were making something. Hmmm…” The Ice Witch smirked. “I wonder how important it is. Maybe we could trade it with ‘em in exchange for the Dragon Slayer. Pick it up, Mai, we’re taking it with us-”

“STOOOOOP!” The witches turned. Asuka had run in, pointing accusingly. “Windy-chan needs that! Windy-chan needs that to be big! Give it back to Windy-chan!”

Cassie smirked. “‘Needs it to be big’, huh? And what’s Windy-chan gonna do if we take it?”

“Leave that alone, it’s for Windy-chan!” Asuka whipped out her toy gun and fired its pellets. The eldest witch marched forward and forcefully kicked Asuka against the wall. “WAAAAH!”

“Hmph.” Cassie smirked coldly. Maya lifted the cauldron in both arms and began to walk out with her.

“HEY!” They turned again. Violeta ran out with Carla behind. “Put that back, it’s Wendy’s Growth Potion!”

“There you are. Whaddyou mean it’s her—this is a Growth Potion??”

“Heard those were hard to make.” Maya said with a desperate urge to pick her nose, but she was holding the cauldron at the moment.

“Heh, maybe we’ll just take this altogether. We’ll learn the recipe and make a ton of copies for our guildmates. Shadow Empress will be unstoppable! Even you’ll be worth something, Vi—”

“I’M NOT LETTING YOU TAKE IT!”

Both witches were stunned at their sister’s outburst. “What?” asked Cassie.

“Wendy’s friends made that and they worked really hard!! I’m NOT letting you take it before she drinks it!”

Cassandra was all the more curious who ‘Wendy’ was. She noticed the white kitten behind Violet, and the tiny blue-topped thing on its head. Smirking, Cassie dodged around Violet and blasted an ice beam that froze Carla’s body except for her head.

“Carla!” Wendy exclaimed, but couldn’t react for long before Cassie’s fingers grabbed and lifted her to the tall witch’s face.

“Blue hair… the Dragon Slayer?” Wendy frantically shook as Cassie observed her. “Don’t tell me this is the one?”

“Aaaaaahhhh let me go, RIGHT NOW!” she cried helplessly.

“Grrrrr! PUT HER DOWN NOW!” Carla desperately tried to free herself of the ice.

“I see…” Cassie put two-and-two together. “A little downsized, are we? This is just too easy. Come on, Maya, let’s hit the-”

“NO!” Violet blasted two flames at Cassie, who yelped and threw Wendy into the air. She was flying above Maya, sights aimed dead on the Growth Potion, but the fat witch changed position and let Wendy land on her hat.

“GRRR!” Cassie lashed an Ice Whip and knocked Vi against the wall. “More useless than I thought.” She rushed over and grabbed Wendy off Maya’s hat—judging by the rash way of doing so, Carla was ready to murder if Wendy got crushed. Violet recovered and tried to attack again- “Try anything else and this brat dies.” Cassie indeed threatened to crush Wendy between her fingers. “Since you care about her so much. We could always find another way of powering the necklace.”

Violet looked from Carla to Cassie. The Exceed was frantic over her master’s safety, so Violet wouldn’t risk. “Be seeing you.” And Vi remained still as the sisters escaped.

The witch-in-training hurried to Carla and began to melt her ice with a flame. “Forget about me, go save Wendy!” she ordered.

“But I can’t beat them, and what if they hurt—”

“At least look for our friends and inform them, we have to get Wendy in that potion! …” She looked at the clock. “Six-fifty?! She needs to drink it by 7:30, please!!”

“!!!” Mind racing with thoughts, Violet left Carla and hurried outside.

The two witches were hurrying down the hill- “Move faster, Mai!” the chubbier sister waddling along while carrying the heavy cauldron, droplets flinging off the sides. As they made it to the hill’s base, about to turn the trees to town, they ran into a group of people.

Natsu, Happy, Erza, Lucy, and Gajeel fixed ominous glares. “Mind explainin’ why yer takin’ our potion?” asked Natsu.

Cassie immediately revealed the squirming Wendy in her fingers, the guildmates freezing in place. “Hmph. You Fairies are so easy. Just takes one of your guildmates to bring down to render you all helpless. No wonder you all fell at the bottom of the ladder.”

 _“Ice-Make FLOOR!”_ The ground suddenly froze below their feet, and Cassie tripped and flew Wendy to the air.

“Wendy!” Juvia ran up and positioned her hands together, the child landing safely on her palms. “Are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah. Thank you, Juvia.”

The Water Mage held Wendy close as they all glared at the witches. With their friend in safe hands, all that’s left was the Growth Potion. They were at a loss, for Cassie was outnumbered, she couldn’t think the next move. Maya, however, did the first thing she always thought of: she guzzled the Growth Potion.

“NOO!!!” screamed the Fairies.

The chubby witch felt a wild sensation, her flesh unbearably wobbly. The Fairies backed away, as did Cassandra, and Wendy truly felt herself shrink further. The fat, yellow-haired witch grew 30 feet tall, the cauldron safely in her palm. _“Whoa… what’s in this stuff, rotten nachos?”_

“THAT’S IT, Maya, CRUSH THEM!” Cassie screamed.

 _“Okay.”_ When Maya lit her left hand with lightning, the very air became static, tingling their skin. The witch aimed and struck lightning, the Fairies hurriedly dodging around.

“REQUIP!” Erza created a dozen swords, flew to the air, and slashed the giant’s face.

 _“GUUUH!”_ Maya stomped backward, holding her face. “Maya, give me that potion, too!” Cassie yelled.

Happy carried Natsu to her face as the Fire Dragon readied to punch with a flaming fist, but Maya encased her fingers over the cauldron and lit her planet-like body with lightning, shocking the two and Erza and causing them to fall.

 _“Iron Dragon-”_ Gajeel charged to stab his spear in Maya’s ankle, but Cassie froze the ground herself and caused him to slip. Maya raised her electrified boot and smashed the iron man, leaving him soot-covered in a crater. With that, the giant took the cauldron in her fingers and lowered it to Cassie.

“Hnn.” The Ice Witch turned to Juvia and Wendy, with fierce glares. “Say good-bye to your chances with the big girls.” And so, Cassie guzzled the potion herself, a larger amount than Maya. The friends backed away further when Cassie grew to 40 feet high. _“Well, look at that. The Fairies have become Pixies. Hey Ice-Maker, make something like THIS!”_ She unleashed a powerful blast of ice and froze the whole forest, Gray protecting himself, Juvia, and Wendy in a shield, but everyone else was frozen. _“You know what, keep your precious Dragon Slayer. We got more than enough power to squash any wizard we want.”_ The Growth Potion still in hand, both witches stomped toward the town.

Violet finally came down, having watched this ordeal from afar. “GRRRrrrr!” Natsu broke free of his ice with his flames. “Those bitches!”

“I’m really sorry! This is all my fault!” Violet bowed. “I had a chance to stop them, but I didn’t-”

“Forget about that, Vi!” Wendy yelled. “We have to get the potion back!”

“We have to unfreeze these-” Gray began.

“No, go after them. I’ll unfreeze ‘em.” Violet jabbed the tips of her fingers to each frozen mage, sending a quick tiny candle. She released a calm sigh, increasing the flames’ size as they slowly began to melt.

“Okay… we’ll leave it to you. Juvia, keep Wendy safe.” With that, Gray and Natsu chased after the witches.

“Juvia, some of the others are injured, take me back.” Wendy told her.

“Okay.” Juvia kept her hands stable while running back to the guild.

**Magnolia**

Townspeople panicked and ran everywhere as the two giants stomped through town, smashing many buildings. Elfman, Lisanna, Laki, and Levy gaped at the sight. “The witches from Shadow Empress?!” the latter exclaimed.

“They got some MANLY bodies now!” Elfman gaped.

“That tall one is holding something!” Lisanna pointed at Cassandra’s left hand. “I’m going to see what it is!” Her arms morphed into gold-feathered wings as she flapped up. She gasped at what sat in Cassie’s hand. “The potion!! They’ve taken it!”

“We have to get it back!” Levy yelled.

“Full-Body _BEAST SOUL!”_ Elfman became a monster, though his size didn’t rival Maya’s very well. He charged forward and performed a mighty leap at Cassie’s face.

“AAAH!” The witch frantically tried to shake him off. Still in bird form, her feet having become talons, Lisanna soared down and attempted to grab the cauldron.

 _“Please.”_ Maya reached over, pinched Lisanna in her electrified fingers, and shocked the shape-shifter, then flicked her to the ground like a fly.

 _“GRR!”_ Cassie punched her own face and injured Elfman, grabbing the tiny beast man and throwing him to his comrades.

“Wood-Make HAND!” Laki created a large wood hand to catch him, but he smashed through the substance and crushed Laki instead.

Maya’s sights were then set on Levy, who on that moment, could only see the brimming electricity in the giant’s hand. A rope of purple fire launched over, grabbed Levy around the wrist, and yanked her away before the lightning struck. “Romeo!” she gasped.

“Hey.” The Fire Mage pulled his whip back. “Sorry I’m late.”

Both gaped as the Lightning Witch charged another strike and aimed at them. _“Iron Dragon SPEAR!”_ Gajeel flew overhead using Pantherlily and dropped, slicing the witch’s wrist and blasting the bolt just across the fat of her belly, making her yelp. Gajeel bounced off the belly and landed near Levy and Romeo. “You two, get back to the guild and help protect Wendy. We’ll take care of this.”

“Maybe I wanna fight, too!!” Levy protested.

“My bust is heavier than yours or these hags’, so get movin’.”

Levy’s cheeks puffed, wanting to protest, but Romeo grabbed her hand and pulled her along. “Let’s go!”

They ran past Natsu, Happy, and Gray, the former facing Gajeel. “Coulda sworn you were frozen a minute ago.”

“You ain’t the only one who c’n get outta a bind, Salamander. I’ve got more fire in my belly than all Fire Dragons combined.”

“You wanna put that to a wager?!”

“Gladly.” Gajeel fist-palmed. “But only after I beat the crap outta some hags.”

“Let’s GET IT on!” The clash against the enlarged Maya and Cassandra commenced.

**At the guild**

Juvia had set Wendy on Mirajane’s left thigh where the Guild Mark lay, the Sky Dragon healing to the best of her current strength. Once again, the apparent enhance in strength took effect as Mirajane groaned awake. Juvia picked Wendy up again while Mirajane helped herself up. “Wendy… what’s happening?”

“The witches from Shadow Empress stole the potion.” Wendy panted, exhausted from healing her and Cana. “They drank it and turned giant.”

“What?! Without that potion, you’re going to-”

“We must hope they haven’t drank it all, we need to get Wendy to a reasonable size soon.” Carla said, now free from the ice.

“But it’s almost 7:30, that isn’t much time!” Juvia yelled, looking at the clock.

“Wendy! Are you all okay?!” Erza yelled, making it back inside with Lucy, Romeo, and Levy.

“We saw what happened!” Levy yelled.

“I’m in the middle of healing them.” Wendy panted. “I just have to do Droy and Jet-”

“You are resting, Child.” Carla took Wendy from Juvia. “You are not exhausting yourself before we even have a chance.”

“Carla, please, let me-”

“Droy and Jet will be fine, they can wait ‘til you’re bigger.” Levy insisted.

“Child, if you end up shrinking, we want you to save as much strength as you’ll need.”

Wendy looked at Carla’s eyes, too weak with exhaustion to argue. From her view, Wendy could see the worry mixed with strictness in those giant eyes. “Okay… I’ll wait.” She lay in Carla’s paws and rested. Every one of them prayed the others would come victorious.

**Downtown**

Maya rolled into a gigantic electric ball and rolled toward Elfman and Gajeel, whom both ended up crushed by her power. Maya got back up to view the soot-covered men, but gasped when Pantherlily flew up in his humanoid form and slashed the witch’s face. _“Iron Dragon ROOOAR!”_ Gajeel didn’t stay down long, and blasted a mighty beam of iron, striking Maya in the nose and toppling the giant backwards.

Cassandra was unleashing a constant ice beam at Gray and Natsu, both combining and countering with their elements. Cassie ceased and watched humorously as they panted. The giantess only exhausted a little bit of magic. _“Fairies. No different than flies. Easy to squash after getting them tired.”_

 _“Ice-Make SPIKEWHIP!”_ Gray stretched two long whips with huge icicle spikes, flailing one at Cassie’s outstretched hand to wrap her wrist. _“Ow!”_ the witch yelped as Gray swung around and upward via the previous whip, lashing the next one at her face, but Cassie grabbed the whip in her teeth and shook her head, flailing Gray around.

“Natsu, what’ll we do!” Happy cried as Natsu gasped for breath. “How’re we gonna beat them in time!”

“We don’t have to beat them… just have to… get back that potion… heeh…”

“Natsu!” The Fire Dragon turned, seeing Violeta run up. “Natsu, you’re a Fire Dragon Slayer, right? Let me power you up.”

“You sure, Vi?”

“I don’t know how much I can give you, but it’s the only way you’ll have a shot.”

“Okay then. Give me EVERYTHING you have!”

Nodding seriously, Violet channeled every ounce of Fire Magic to her arms. She aimed at Natsu and unleashed two constant beams, Natsu guzzling it all like smoothies through straws. Violet’s arms were tired, she never released so much magic at once, but she couldn’t stop now. Like she promised her sisters, and promised Natsu just now… she would give everything she had.

After Cassie had flailed Gray away, she set her sights on Natsu. A fiercesome red flame ignited his form. “Yeah… now I’m fired up.” And he released all his fury against Cassandra’s ice.

**Fairy Tail**

Wendy was set on a table, having recovered in strength, but heart racing with worry. Erza, Lucy, and Mirajane were watching the hills outside, hoping someone would come running with the potion, while the others watched the clock. 7:10 was nearing. In just 20 more minutes, it would happen. But time would fly a little bit faster.

Wendy panicked, feeling the odd sensation again. She didn’t need to go to the bathroom… her hands and feet were wobbling, and the floor of the table appeared to stretch as her vision sunk. “No… NO! GUYS! I’M SHRINKING!”

“WHAT?!” Lucy gasped, the friends all whipping around.

“NO!” Erza screamed.

“Hang in there!” Romeo shouted.

“It’s too late! Sniff…” Wendy fell to her knees and let her emotions pour in the form of tears. She was steadily shrinking beyond their sight, her voice faint as she yelled the top of her lungs. “Thank you ALL for being friends with me! I’ll never forget everything you’ve done!”

“Wendy, please!” Carla crouched on all fours, using all her catlike senses to see and hear her. “Do not leave us!”

“Good-bye, Carla! You’ve always been like a mother to me, ever since Grandeeney left! You were my closest friend, and I’ll never forget you!”

_“Wendy… don’t say that…”_ Tears dripped from Carla’s eyes. Wendy’s voice was fading from her ears.

“Good-bye, everybody! I’ll never forget Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Gray, and EVERYONE at Fairy Tail. I know you guys will be Number One again, but I’m sorry I won’t live to see that! GOOD-BYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEE!”

Carla looked as close as she could. The best she could make out was an oddly-colored speck of dust. Wendy was so microscopic. She couldn’t be heard, barely be seen, if Carla took her eyes away, she might never find her again. Carla wanted to keep looking. Keep seeing her master, her _friend_ , as much as possible. She would never accept this.

For Wendy, it was like being in a whole new world. She couldn’t see the ceiling of the guild, the table’s top looked like an endless canyon. The sight before her eyes made this unbearably painful, like her eyes would melt with the tears. A tremendous white mass of trees of immeasurable size. Brown, watering eyes that looked like lakes, the pupils sunk in the tears as they focused on Wendy. They didn’t blink a bit. “GO AWAY, CARLA, IT’S TOO LATE FOR ME!” Wendy cried with all of her heart. “STOP LOOKING! YOU CAN’T DO ANYTHING! Don’t worry about me!” She buried her eyes. “Please go away.”

Carla couldn’t hear anything Wendy might’ve been saying. Unable to contain herself, she placed her paws over her eyes. _“Wendy… Child… please… don’t give up… don’t leave me… my dear… please…”_

The guildmates burst into tears before long. They couldn’t believe it. Their friend was gone, now one of many specks of dust in this old tavern. Erza, Mirajane, and Lucy held each other close, letting the tears fall. Cana couldn’t stomach another beer; she was sorry for all the ‘short’ comments. Pain consumed Romeo’s heart too; Wendy was truly someone he admired for her power, and he was sorry he missed the chance to take her on a mission. The guild had never been so unhappy. One of their most powerful wizards, most beloved and dearest friends, they would never hear her voice again. Levy could still not contain her guilt, taking the absolute blame for why they didn’t act sooner. For the rest of her life, she would never forgive herself.

 _“RRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!”_ Everyone whipped around to the hill outside. There came Natsu, full of unfathomable anger and rage, the steaming cauldron in his arms. _“WEEEEENDYYYYYYYYY!”_ Completely blind to everything else, he charged into the guild and flew the potion forward without thinking.

“AAAAAHHH!” The guildmates dodged, including Carla, the contents spilling all over the table. Natsu panted, seething with more anger than ever.

Wendy had known nothing from that moment. She was floating… in a dimension of green liquid. Bubbles of incredible size. Drowning…

**Downtown**

Elfman was knocked off his feet, reverting back to human form. _“Iron Dragon ROOOOOAAAAAR!”_ Gajeel unleashed another powerful breath, but with Cassandra’s and Maya’s conjoined magic, the giantesses sent him flying several meters.

 _“Hmph. How sad such a great guild has fallen.”_ The eldest witch scoffed. _“Even their Dragon Slayers are helpless to the power of a potion.”_

_“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that!”_

!!! The witches’ jaws almost fell off. No way they were prepared for what they were about to face.

“All right WENDYYYY!” Natsu cheered to the heavens.

“KICK SOME BUTT!” Lucy pumped.

“Ahhhh! Is that-?” Gajeel gaped.

“Is it possible?” Lily asked.

Wendy Marvell was 50 feet high, larger than every building in Magnolia. Her indigo hair blew like a curtain, and her young body held so much energy and excitement. A terrifying amount of strength and spirit flowed through her veins, and now she would unleash it with all her force. _“Is that the… Sky Dragon?”_ Cassie asked.

 _“Uuuuhh…”_ Maya didn’t know what to say.

“He he he!” Violeta giggled.

Carla had never been so proud… so happy. There Wendy stood… bigger and full of more pride and passion than ever before. Carla couldn’t describe how she felt… how much she admired Wendy, this very moment.

With lungs of fantastic proportion, Wendy sucked in so much air, the clouds swirled into a tornado and flowed into her mouth. _“Skyyyy Dragon MEGA ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRR!”_

 _“AAAAAAAAHHHHH!”_ Wendy’s breath had the power of a storm, and 5 times the strength. The witches and their colossal size went flying across the horizon. They wouldn’t be coming back.

“ALL RIGHT!” Lucy cheered. “That was amazing, Wendy!”

“YEAH! You were really FIRED UP!” Natsu yelled.

“Oh, man! I should’ve learned Air Magic if I could do that!” Romeo cheered.

“That was the MANLIEST thing I’ve ever SEEN!” Elfman cried.

“I think I speak for all when I say how amazed we are how you’ve grown up!” Levy beamed.

 _“Ha ha ha ha ha!”_ All these compliments were making her blush for all to see. _“I could never have done it without all of my Fairy Tail friends!” All of them…_ She looked at the sky, thinking of Mavis.

“Great, but uhhh… what about this girl?” Gajeel asked, pulling Violet over by the hand.

Wendy knelt down, picked up, and gently raised Violet to her face. _“Thank you for helping me, Vi. I would’ve been finished if it wasn’t for you.”_

“Don’t mention it, Wendy. I know what it’s like to feel small… you deserve to be with the friends you have.”

_“They can be your friends, too. Join Fairy Tail, Vi. We may not be the strongest, but everyone is really sweet. You’ll make friends in no time.”_

“That’s very nice Wendy, but… I belong in Shadow Empress.” Violet spoke with slight regret. “It’s become too close of a home for me, and, after seeing what you all do… I wanna work to change Empress. I wanna make it as nice as you guys.”

_“Then I wish you the best of luck. But if you ever change your mind, we’ll be happy to have you. I hope we get to see each other again one day.”_

“I do, too. You’re a great person, Wendy, and I’ll miss you. See you later?”

_“You got it!”_

Wendy placed her hand on the ground and let Violeta run off. The smaller witch waved happily to the giant ‘til she vanished behind the buildings. The giantess then looked down at her friends. _“Well, I’m glad things turned out well for everybody.”_

“Yes, but… won’t the same exact thing now happen with the Growth Potion?” inquired Carla.

No sooner did everybody seem to freeze in time for a split second. _“AAAAAHHHH!!! You’re right, you’re right!”_ Wendy tugged her hair and started crying. _“What’m I gonna do, I’m gonna grow outside the atmosphere and suffocate, THEN there’ll be a giant dead BODY over the planet, WAAAAAH-”_ But in a sudden blast of magic, followed by a huge cloud of smoke… Wendy was back to normal.

Her face was still and her tears vanished. For many seconds, everybody just stood and wondered what the heck just happened. “Nice to know _I_ wasn’t invited to this party.” a gruff voice remarked.

“Master Makarov!!” Natsu beamed, seeing the short old man behind Wendy, his wand aimed at the girl.

“Can’t I leave my guild for a single day without my students turning into monsters?”

“Oh Master Makarov, THANK YOU!” Wendy kneeled and embraced the man in her most gracious of hugs.

“Now now, don’t celebrate just yet. I want you to visit Porlyusica to make sure she gets _every_ last ounce of potion that may be inside you out. The only mage I wanna see alternating size is ME.” He grinned.

“Ha ha ha ha!” Wendy blushed.

“But what about those mages from Shadow Empress?” Erza asked. “With their sizes, surely they’ll return.”

“Yes, but can I assume they consumed the potion their selves?”

“Y…Yes?”

“Then don’t be worried. A potion wears off after a few hours when it’s just swallowed. Different story when you spill it on yourself, heh heh.”

Wendy looked totally ditzy. But this time, she didn’t want to shrink out of sight in embarrassment.

“Hey Master, look what I found.” Romeo held up a golden necklace with a rainbow jewel. “I think it’s something the witches dropped.”

“That’s what they stole from Balsamico!” Lucy recalled.

“I say…” Makarov took the jewel and observed it. “This is the Dragon’s Jewel. In the old days, the dragons imbued their power in this to control the weather. Of course, the only ones who could ultimately make it work were the Sky Dragons.”

“The Sky Dragons? So THAT’S why they wanted me.” Wendy deduced. “Is a gem like that really powerful?”

“If ancient tomes still hold credibility. I know we got a job request, but I think it best to keep this safe.” Makarov stuffed the necklace down his shirt.

“So no month of rent for me.” Lucy wept defeatedly.

“But are you certain the witches won’t come back?” Erza asked.

“I did my share of research on potions too, so… I wouldn’t count on it.”

**Shadow Empress**

“VIOLETA!! YOU BETTER START WORKING ON THAT GROWTH POTION RIGHT NOW!!” Cassandra cried like a teeny-weeny mousy.

“Or at least bring us some food!” Maya cried.

Violeta was overcome with joy and adoration. Her sisters were teeny-tiny dots on the palm of her hand, and sounded too adorable for words. “Awwww look how _cute_ you aaaaare! You’re so _tiiiiinyyyyyy.”_

“YOU ARE GETTING SERIOUS PUNISHMENT IF YOU DON’T GET STARTED!!!”

“I just can’t take it anymore!” Violet’s grin was wide and sparkly. “I just wanna eat you up, you’re so cute! In you go!”

 **“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!”** The hand flew for the child’s great open mouth, and the darkness awaited.

“…Just kidding!” She stopped just inches from doing so. “You guys would taste YUCKY.” X3P

**Magnolia**

“Well, I need to be off. I should… probably speak to someone about these damages. As you were!” Master Makarov left toward town, where many buildings had been crushed into rubble.

“HAHA!” Natsu, Lucy, Erza, and Levy grabbed Wendy immediately and crushed her in a four-way hug. “Told ya Makarov would make everything better!”

“Ha ha ha!” Wendy never cried more tears of joy. All her heart ever knew at that moment was deep love and gratitude to her friends. “Thank you guys so much for everything you did for me! There’s nothing I can do to repay you, I’ll never stop being grateful, never never never never!”

The friends released her, and Carla seized the moment to jump into Wendy’s arms. “Oh, Child! I thought I’d never see you again.” Her little arms reached to either side of Wendy’s chest, the child holding her close. Their hearts were as one, and powerful love existed. Tears fell down Carla’s face and drenched Wendy’s dress, and Wendy’s tears wetted the fur of her head.

Wendy reopened her eyes to see her friends, “Thank you again. I can’t imagine where I’d be if not for you all—I’m so thankful to have friends like all of you, if it takes the rest of my life, I’ll repay you.”

“There’s nothing you _have_ to do to repay us, Wendy.” Lucy assured her. “But just promise us one thing:”

“What’s that?”

“Except for learning some new skills, promise us you’ll _never_ change who you are.”

“And promise us you won’t try to make anymore potions.” Gray told her smoothly. “I think we’re all in agreement that should be left to experts.”

“Hahahaha.” She blushed once more. “You’re right. No more potions.”

“And if you’re truly set on repaying us, promise you will work hard to become stronger.” Erza told her with pride and passion. “If you make mistakes, promise you will stay proud and true, keep working, never let them control you. And never forget Fairy Tail will always be by your side.”

“I WON’T!” Wendy exclaimed with pure devotion. “I WILL keep getting stronger, and I’ll do it with my own power and strength!”

“THAT’S the spirit, Wendy!” Natsu slapped her back. “COME ON, let’s go back to the guild and PARTY!” He lifted Wendy onto his shoulders and ran away.

“I’ll need a thousand drinks after a MANLY adventure like this!” Elfman proclaimed.

“He said to take her to Porlyusica first, COME BACK, NATSU!!” Lucy infuriatingly chased after them.

Wendy continued to hold Carla close while she sat over Natsu’s shoulders. The kitten was so peaceful. “Oh, how I’ve missed being in these arms.”

“You’re the one I need to thank most of all, Carla. If you weren’t with me when I shrunk, who knows how long I would have to wait.”

“I would’ve found you eventually, Child. I couldn’t imagine my life without you.”

“Me either. I’m so glad to have a friend like you. I’ll miss being in your teensy-weensy paws.”

“Those moments of holding you are ones I’ll always treasure. But from this point forward, I hope to continue to be the small one. You grew so much today, Child, I hope to be around to watch you grow more.”

“No matter how much we grow or shrink, Carla, I hope we’re with each other forever.”

“I couldn’t wish for anything more.”

The rest of their day was eventful all the same. Wendy visited Porlyusica to have any traces of potion in her bloodstream extracted; a long arduous process that concluded with the promise Wendy wouldn’t have any more unnatural size-spurts. A party was held at the guild in celebration, and Wendy received her promised slices of cake. The girls decided to hold another slumber party with the full-sized Wendy invited, able to engage in pillow fights, paint nails without getting too messy, and exchanging conversation with normal, non-deafening voices. Wendy took a bath in a normal-size tub afterwards, revitalizing her after the struggles of today. To conclude the night, Wendy was giving Carla a well-deserved grooming, an activity she would’ve certainly missed. Then, they went to sleep, where Wendy held Carla like a small stuffed animal. They would keep each other warm in their sleep, in peaceful dreams. Wendy’s mind was allowed to wander as well, reflecting what she’s learned these past two days.

_After seeing what my friends can do… I want more than anything to become as strong as them. To grow and blossom into a powerful wizard! It was silly of me to feel ashamed about my size, looking back. In the end, I felt like almost shrinking into nothing… helped me grow into something more. Because every experience and every mistake helps me to learn. That’s what I learned these past 24 hours. And I’m glad I have so many friends to teach me. In time… I’ll know that I don’t NEED a Growth Potion to grow up big and strong!_


End file.
